On general release Fri 23 Mar (Spain)
Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2011 / 90mins
Believing that our own personal problems can never be trumped by other people’s often prevents wider social troubles from being fully contemplated. Edinburgh residents are right to complain about the imminent bus fare rise to £1.40, but it hardly compares to the 13% increase to Greek V.A.T. Nacho Vigalondo’s new comedy depicts how individual issues, however grievous, will often be eclipsed by even the world’s tamer social injustices. Waking to a deserted city, Julia (Michelle Jenner) and Julio (Julián Villagrán) find themselves in the middle of an alien invasion. But with no impending danger, they’ve more pressing matters to attend to.
There’s a dry comicalness in the protagonists’ semi-ambivalence towards the attack, as they instead choose to pursue hedonistic pleasures. Their decision to select self-preservation over common decency reflects society’s head-in-the-sand approach to many infamous breaches of human rights (UK/USA/Israel). The lengths they go to in order to protect their public image only further the parallels with the hypocritical “defenders of freedom”. But while Vigalondo creates humour in their selfishness, the absurdity of the situations act as a metaphor for the laughable excuses politicians give to justify their conduct. If Julio needs an extraterrestrial incursion to put his actions into perspective, what will it take to jolt the consciences of corrupt government officials?