Abracadabra + Q&A at HOME
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Spanish director Pablo Berger follows up art-house hit Blancanieves with Abracadabra, a hypnotic comedy about Carmen, a housewife living on the outskirts of Madrid and her husband, an obsessed Real Madrid fan named Carlos. Carlos is already an insufferable chauvinist, but things take a turn when he becomes possessed by the spirit of a serial killer in an unfortunate case of hypnotism gone wrong. Berger’s silent, black and white fairytale Blancanieves was praised for its style, but the director has gone in another direction for Abracadabra which features brash, riotous colour, infectious 80s music and over-the-top plotting which has drawn comparisons with the films of compatriot Pedro Almodóvar in the international press.
Screening at HOME as part of this year’s ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival, Abracadabra will be accompanied by a Q&A with director Pablo Berger.