L'ensorcellement de Séville Review: Lots of drama, even more hair gel

If you are looking for something to watch tonight, only grab this one if you really, really love old silent movies with lots of dusty streets and heavy eyeliner. Anyone who likes slow-burning Spanish romance will have a decent time, but if you need action or a plot that makes sense, you will probably want to throw your shoe at the screen. 💃

I found this dusty print of L'ensorcellement de Séville last week. Honestly, the city of Seville itself is the real star here, not the actors.

The story is your typical melodrama about a guy who gets absolutely hypnotized by a dancer. It reminded me a bit of the heavy-handed drama in Perdida, but with more sunshine and guitars.

The Hats are the Real Main Characters

Seriously, the hats in this movie are massive. Every guy wears this flat-brimmed hat that looks like it could catch radio signals from the future.

There is this one guy, played by Gaston Modot, who just sneers at everyone. His mustache looks like it was drawn on with a very thick crayon, and I love him for it.

The main lady, Ginette Maddie, does this dance where she shakes her shoulders so fast I thought she was having some kind of medical emergency. But everyone in the tavern starts clapping, so I guess it was just very good dancing back then.

Some parts of this feel like the director just let the camera run because he forgot to say cut. One scene with a guitar player goes on for about two minutes too long, and you can see the actor in the background just sort of... waiting around.

Things I Noticed While Eating My Popcorn:

• The main actor has so much hair gel on. It looks like his hair is made of shiny plastic.
• There is a dog in the background of the street scene that is clearly trying to bite a kid, but nobody stops filming.
• The title cards are in French, but they use Spanish words randomly to sound authentic. It's pretty funny.

It is not a masterpiece like One Week, which actually has a plot that keeps you awake. This one is more like looking through someone's very old, very dramatic photo album.

The ending is super abrupt, too. It just sort of stops during a big dramatic moment, and then the words "FIN" pop up on the screen. I sat there for a second thinking, "Wait, that is it?"

If you have some free time and want to look at pretty pictures of Spain from a hundred years ago, give it a go. Otherwise, maybe skip it and watch something with a bit more life in it. 🐂