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'Los Tarantos', by Rovira Beleta (DVD)
It has been forty years since a serious illness took Carmen Amaya's life
and forty years since the premiere of 'Los Tarantos', the movie in which she left
her artistic last will and testament. And now the film, directed by Rovira Beleta,
has been re-released in DVD format for the enjoyment of enthusiasts, followers
and admirers of this now legendary bailaora.
Frame
gallery from DVD 'Los Tarantos'
Frame from DVD 'LosTarantos'
The film's plot is based on the drama by Alfredo Mañas 'La historia
de los tarantos', premiered the previous year. In short, the storyline is that
of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', taken to the gypsy world. Actor Daniel Martín
and actress and bailaora Sara Lezana play the main roles in this story of impossible
love. But it is not just that. The movie turns out to be an excellent flamenco
musical in which not only a tremendous and mature Carmen Amaya appears, but also
Antonio Gades, Chocolate, La Singla, El Estampío, Peret... And in such
a way that the music and script masterfully complement each other, enrich and
interact.
While the Taranto and Zorongo families take their rivalry to the limit in the
setting of the slums of Barcelona in the sixties, flamenco is displayed honestly,
thanks to the consulting work by Francisco Revés. The credits make a note
of it, with a background of rhythm and jaleos. And the baile and cante hardly
cease. One dances and sings through soleares, rumbas, bulerías, tientos,
the garrotín, tanguillos, farruca, flamenco Christmas carols... The background
music, except for a few exceptions, is also flamenco, whether it be an evocative
guitar or an ominous fandango. And some of these styles are performed as never
before on the big screen. The scene in which Carmen Amaya, in the open air, beats
time with her knuckles on a table, sings and dances is simply sublime. That other
one in which Antonio Gades, clad in jeans, dances through farrucas in the street
with the garden hoses in the background is modern, and the time having past, essential.
Carmen Amaya in 'Los Tarantos'
'Los Tarantos' by Rovira Beleta - who later filmed 'El amor brujo'- was nominated
for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963. The award was not won, but
the recognition was on the part of the public and critics, who knew how to appreciate
its social side, its peculiar esthetics, its dramatic-romantic look, its value
as a musical. According to data from Spain's Ministry of Culture, the film was
seen by nearly half a million spectators, the same figure as current feature films
such as 'Mi vida sin mí' by Isabel Coixet and 'Los lunes al sol' by Fernando
León. The figure, now that it has been released on DVD, is sure to multiply
within and beyond Spain's borders, since 'Los Tarantos' is as universal as flamenco
itself.
Frame
gallery from DVD 'Los Tarantos'
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