JUAN OF THE DEAD (2011) Movie Review

Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 7
Total First Time Views: 5
Amount raised for ALBANY PARK THEATER PROJECT: $340.55

Juan of the Dead (2011) d. Alejandro Brugués (Cuba/Spain) (95 min) (3rd viewing)

Calling writer/director Brugués’ crowd-pleasing zom-com a Latino Shaun of the Dead is both a spot-on assessment yet a dangerously reductive one. In the same way that Edgar Wright’s capturing of the London suburban slacker culture proved to be Shaun’s secret weapon, so too does Brugués immerse the viewer within the pulsing, poverty-stricken Havana streets, lending the film an unexpected authenticity.

BIFFF Day #8 (Friday, 4/13)

Following Thursday night’s awesome screening of Juan of the Dead, I was pretty well stoked to chat with one of the supporting cast, Jazz Vila, who had previously worked with director Alejandro Brugues on the film Personal Belongings. We met up in the Jameson bus that morning and had a terrific discussion about the film and how he was enjoying his role as the film’s ambassador. Jazz said that from the moment people read the script, they knew they had something special, and we talked at length about the magic act of making a movie that has a social point of view without being heavy-handed about it, something that the Juan team has managed to pull off admirably.

Jazz’s role, that of cross-dressing homosexual “China,” was one that he felt honored to play, as he knew he wanted to give the character the dignity he deserved as opposed to only being a cheap laugh as is often the case in Cuban cinema. “These people exist,” he said, “and they are real human beings. They are strong and real, and it was important to represent that.” The more we chatted, the more I realized just how easily Brugues could have turned in a cheap zombie flick instead of a genuinely rewarding and thought-provoking piece of entertainment.

INTERVIEW: JUAN OF THE DEAD'S Alejandro Brugues and Jazz Vila!!!

Calling writer/director Alejandro Brugués’ crowd-pleasing zom-com a Latino Shaun of the Dead is both a spot-on assessment yet a dangerously reductive one. In the same way that Edgar Wright’s capturing of the London suburban slacker culture proved to be Shaun’s secret weapon, so too does Brugués immerse the viewer within the pulsing poverty stricken Havana streets, lending the film an unexpected authenticity. What could have been a cheap, derivatively titled zombie flick turns out instead to be a genuinely rewarding and thought-provoking piece of apolitical entertainment that packs an emotional wallop and side-splitting splatter. Juan of the Dead is a worthy addition to the walking dead canon, and popular Cuban actor Alexis Díaz de Villegas delivers the kind of star-making role that should have Hollywood taking notice (a la Simon Pegg).

Below, Brugués and actor Jazz Vila (who plays La China, the feisty transvestite amidst Juan’s ragtag band of survivors) were kind enough to share thoughts about their film and its place amongst the cinematic undead hordes.