Pablo Larraín’s “El Conde” is dividing some critics at Venice. The mixed (and semi-positive) reviews come to us from IndieWire, The Guardian, Screen Daily, Little White Lies, and Variety. The result is a 70 on Metacritic, based on 10 reviews.
Meanwhile, THR, The Wrap, and Vulture praise the film. There will be more reviews to come, I’m sure, and a Metascore will be updated in the next few hours, but this isn’t the start we all hoped for Larrain’s film.
“El Conde” tackles a vampiric former dictator, inspired by former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet is not dead in the film, but an aged vampire who, after 250 years in this world, has decided to die once and for all, due to “ailments brought about by his dishonor and family conflicts”.
A gorgeous-looking trailer was released last week. The beautiful images recalled 1920s German Expressionism. Larraín’s filmography includes the likes of “Spencer,” “Ema,” “Jackie,” “The Club,” and “No.” I only really liked “Jackie,” and “The Club,” but don’t find him to be that fascinating of a filmmaker.
Many were surprised by last week’s announcement that Chile’s submission for the Best International Film Oscar was not “El Conde,” but rather Felipe Gálvez‘s “The Settlers.”
Some were even speculating that the politics behind “El Conde” turned off the Chilean voting committee, but I never believed that. “The Settlers” has received a lot of praise ever since its Cannes debut, so it's not like they chose an obscure film. In fact, “The Settlers” was one of the truly great finds of this year’s Cannes.
“El Conde” will be streaming, via Netflix, on September 15th.
The man doesn't stop. James Gunn has confirmed he's already hard at work writing his next film, even as ‘Man of Tomorrow’ makes its way toward theaters next summer.