The first and most famous feature directed by Mexico’s Rafael Corkidi,
who seems destined to be known primarily as the cinematographer of
EL TOPO and
THE HOLY MOUNTAIN--and
after viewing the present film I feel that’s as it should be.
The Package
In its native Mexico, ANGELS AND CHERUBS (ANGELES Y
QUERUBINES; 1972) was quite notorious for its extensive nudity and
blasphemous overtones. The film is all-but forgotten today (and until
recently was believed lost), as are Rafael Corkidi’s other self-directed
efforts AUANDAR ANAPU (1975), DESEOS and PAFNUCIO SANTO (both 1977).
There’s a reason for that!
The Story
This film begins with a surreal take on Adam and Eve
featuring two naked young children frolicking in a beachfront Eden. The
kids eventually happen upon what looks like a large egg that explodes
when they try to play with it. A cackling man’s voice, apparently that
of Big G himself, mocks the children’s endeavors.
From there the action switches to the interior of a
dark castle where the freaky aristocrat Don Jacobo presides over a
bizarre procession of monks and assorted mystics. The Don’s son Cristian
falls in love with the alluring Angela, who comes from a middle class
family living nearby. The Don strongly forbids the union before
unexpectedly dropping dead, seemingly allowing Cristian and Angela to
pursue their passions unabated.
Their bliss is short lived, however, as Angela promptly
dies (I’m not sure why) and Cristian goes mad with desire for his
beloved. Then the Don is unexpectedly brought back to life. It seems
he’s a vampire, and so is Cristian…
The Direction
Quite simply, this film is a bore. Like Rafael
Corkidi’s other features, it’s highly reminiscent of the Alejandro
Jodorowsky directed, Corkidi photographed EL TOPO in its overpowering
air of mystical surrealism, yet lacks the invention and filmmaking savvy
that made that film so affecting.
In ANGELS AND CHERUBS virtually every scene is allowed
to drag on far longer than is necessary, regardless of how uneventful
those scenes may be (watching a servant woman endlessly circle a dinner
table, doling out soup over and over is about as interesting as it
sounds), and there’s little in the way of a cogent narrative to hold it
all together. In an apparent attempt at aping the craziness of the
aforementioned EL TOPO, the film is crammed with surreal touches
(telepathic puppets, an elaborate religious procession in the middle of
a parched desert), but they feel gratuitous and fail to gel with the
film overall.
Yet the photography, as we’ve come to expect from
Corkidi, is stunning. Corkidi’s pictorial genius was a large part of
what made Jodoroswky’s early films, as well as Juan Lopez Moctezuma’s
MANSION OF MADNESS,
such unforgettable experiences, and it gives ANGELS AND CHERUBS what
little interest it contains. As visualized by Corkidi, the film’s
endless deserts and opulently furnished interior sets are a wonder to
behold, with all the hallucinatory brilliance the film otherwise fails
to provide.
Vital Statistics
ANGELS AND CHERUBS
(ANGELES Y QUERUBINES)
Cine Producciones
Director/Screenwriter/Cinematographer: Rafael Corkidi
Producer: Roberto Viskin
Screenplay: Carlos Illescas
Editing: Federico Landeros
Cast: Roberto Canedo, Jorge Humberto Robles, Helena Rojo, Ana Luis
Peluffo, Lea Corkidi, Oablo Corkidi, Pablo Corkidi, Cecilia Pezet, David
Silva, Coalito, Max Liszt
