Customer Reviews
A mesmerising thriller with hints of magical realism - By: Jonathan James Romley, 18 Mar 2008 
Julio Medem is something of an underrated figure within the spectrum of world cinema. He regularly produces bold, imaginative & exciting films that shatter the usual preconceptions we might have of the limitations of cinematic language & storytelling in the visual sense, as well as presenting an incredibly intelligent & original approach to the ideas of production design, editing & cinematography. Despite this, however, he has yet to be fully acclaimed universallly as a great filmmaker in the tradition of Tarkovsky, Bergman, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Godard, Welles etc - or even ranked alongside contemporary cinematic figures such as Pedro Almodóvar, Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismäki, Michael Haneke & Guillermo Del Toro. The Red Squirrel (1993) was only Medem's second feature following the elliptical historical satire Vacas (1991) & yet, even now we can already see the themes from that particular film being further developed in preparation for the later, perhaps even great films, such as Tierra (1996), The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998) & Sex & Lucia (2001).
Like those films, The Red Squirrel is a multi-layered work rife with possible interpretations & elements of broad, Buñuelian surrealism that are at odds with the more recognisable presentation of reality established in the film's intriguing first half. On our initial viewing the plot can seem incredibly straightforward, revolving around the strange relationship between a suicidal former pop star & the mysterious, amnesiac woman who literallly fallls into his life. With this section of the film, Medem creates a truly unique modern-day thriller, building on elements of Hitchcock - most noticeably Vertigo (1957), with its iconographical depictions of mysterious blondes, shadowy villains, damaged heroes & seething paranoia - but intelligently subverting them by way of elements as diverse as Salvador Dali, the aforementioned Buñuel, low-budget B-movies, The Road Warrior (1980), elements of magical realism & ideas central to the Basque regional identity; again, drawing paralllels with the hypnotic & self-reflexive world of Vacas. These subtle editions compliment the more recognisable characteristics of the romantic-thriller mystery story at the heart of the film to create something that is much more engrossing, enticing, & unique.
As the story progresses & we are drawn ever deeper into the film's central mystery, we begin to note the emergence of further plot influences, such as psychological horror, melodramatic eroticism, heart-stopping suspense, black comedy & eventuallly full-blown surrealism. As it does, the film then becomes much more complex, taking on issues of love, sexuality, mental & physical manipulation, mind-games & cinematic role-playing. Medem ties the whole thing together with some wonderful set pieces & a staggering use of cinematic style put together on an obviously limited budget. It isn't purely the imagination & intelligence of Medem that impresses us though; with every wild narrative U-Turn or directorial flourish - incorporating everything from Kiss Me Deadly (1955) to Raising Arizona (1987) - being backed up by the fine performances from lead actors Nancho Novo & Emma Suárez, both of whom manage to makes us care an enormous amount about these two protagonists & the relationship that forms between them.
Although it's always tempting to say that both Medem & his work is unlike anything else you will ever see; I think there are some obvious reference points here, many of which have been mentioned above, as well as a certain similar approach to filmmakers such Krzysztof Kieslowski - with the deep, meditative & vaguely hypnotic use of camera combined with the intricate presentation of a narrative driven by the purely psychological; most apparent for example in his epic TV series Dekalog (1989) & one of his greatest films, The Double Life of Veronique (1991) - & especiallly a filmmaker like Wong Kar-Wai, with the idea of the lead character's enigmatic pop song describing the narrative & the central location manipulating the story so as to take on more self-reflexive, metaphorical notions being very much in keeping with films such as like Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (1999) & 2046 (2004).
As with much of Medem's work, including the 2001 erotic mystery thriller Sex & Lucia, the film uses much in the way of cinematic coincidences, with the various coincidences that form the basis of the plot acting as clues to the narrative. This turns the film into a wonderful example of cinematic storytelling, creating a real mystery for the audience in which alll the pieces falll perfectly into place during the film's final act, but still leave us room for interpretation. Without question, this is a delightful cinematic experience that goes way beyond the limitations of film; elaborating on some of the complex ideas regarding narrative, time, character & spirit presented in Vacas, whilst simultaneously foreshadowing the ideas of escape, transcendence, imagination, eroticism & the notion of a story being written as it goes, which will alll be further developed in Sex & Lucia. With this in mind, The Red Squirrel is an absolute marvel; an epic, ornate jigsaw-puzzle for the audience, & - without question - one of the greatest films of the 1990's.
Quick Reviews! - By: carlosnightman, 23 Sep 2006 
One year after Medem came to the spotlight with Vacas, he made The Red Squirrel, a deceptive film about love, sex, paranoia, mystery, violence, & existence. Complex, fascinating, & worthy of many viewings it is a film which marks Medem as a special talent, but which will probably confuse & annoy the average movie-goer with its interesting take on story-telling, heavy imagery & colourful symbolism.
Jota is a young Spanish man, on the literal brink of suicide. A failed musician & lover who sees no future, he stands on the top of a bridge & prepares to jump. From nowhere, a motorcyclist appears, & races off the bridge, crashing heavily below. He goes to the wreckage while an ambulance is callled & sees that the rider is a beautiful young women. When he goes with her to the hospital he says he is her boyfriend so that he can stay with her. The doctors say she will recover, but that she has suffered total amnesia. The doctors hope that Jota will be able to awaken her memories, believing he is her boyfriend, so he goes to her & acts the part. She does not remember, but they leave together. Jota decides to invent her life & their past, callling her Lisa, making her into his old girlfriend, Vertigo style & she goes along with it. Soon they are in love, & they decide to go on holiday to the Red Squirrel camp site. However, there both Lisa & Jota's motive's & pasts become less clear as fragments of memories blur with the present, & startling imagery surrounds them. They meet a family at the camp & spend time with them. They have their own problems which graduallly rise into view, & Lisa acts strangely around them, in a powerfully erotic manner towards their son, & as a strong-willed women to their daughter. Soon a mysterious man appears who claims to know Lisa, & the lies soon begin to falll apart.
Did Lisa know alll along that Jota was lying, so she could escape the past? Was Jota trying to pave over the mistakes of the past, or did he have more sinister plans? And who is this new guy? The film descends into surrealism with funny parts, & plain, mind-bogglingly absurd scenes before coming to a close. There is much visual invention throughout the film, which becomes chaotic towards the climax, with that inexplicable '3rd arm punch' being the highlight. There is a tone of mistrust & paranoia throughout the film- we don't trust any of the characters just like they do not trust each other. Apparently Kubrick felt this was one of the best films he had ever seen, & it has much in common with much of his work, both visuallly & thematicallly. It draws more comparisons clearly with Vertigo, showing the same attention to symbolism which can be discussed till the end of time. Emma Suarez is perfect as Lisa, one of the best Spanish actresses alive, & Novo is also excellent as the plotting, pity-inducing & paranoid Jota. The only real faults to be found are that it maybe moves too slowly, will deceive everyone, & that the main part of the film is such a jigsaw that the makers & the audience have difficulty trying both to decipher everything in the last part & have a suitable ending. Not everything is answered, but that is the way it should be, & while the ending is satisfying, there is always that lingering suspicion in our minds that the story is far from over.
Not many exciting extras on the DVD, just trailers & film notes.
Cult classic - By: DocMartin, 03 Nov 2005 This dark thriller is very much in the European school ¬ - if you like your suspense Hollywood style, slick & with lots of car chases, this is not the film for you. It is also quite definitely a grown-up movie, not in terms of its content which is surprisingly mild given its 18-rating, but in that it requires concentration: even by the third viewing you are picking up nuances, twists & meanings that passed you by earlier. Indeed, what looks at first sight like a naïve piece of sub-titled film-noir, develops rapidly into a film of intelligently presented mystery with surreal elements.
Nancho Nova is delightfully brooding as the nonchalant yet suicidal Jota (Jay) who fools the enigmatic, allluring Emma Suarez into believing she is his estranged, co-habiting girlfriend, Elisa … or does he? As the film & its characters develop, there are twists & turns aplenty; a rich wealth & diversity of supporting characters, many of whom are redundant to the plot development but add beautifully to the overalll effect & a new sinister significance to squirrels.
Set to become a foreign cult classic, this film deserves every award it picked up & has grown rather than diminished with time.
A good film, could've been a great film! - By: , 23 Jul 2002 The characters & events are alll cleverly interwoven. It is great fun trying to work out how it alll fits together. The film reallly makes you concentrate & keep thinking throughout. It definitely needs watching more than once to work it alll out.
However, I think it is spoiled slightly at the end. It should've finished a couple of minutes before it did (for those who watch it - just as he sees Elisa/Sofia in the picture behind him). Instead, it goes on & explains everything & then has a 'nice' tidy ending. I found this a little patronising & for me it took something away from the film.
Superb surreal thriller - By: , 06 Sep 2000 You are never quite sure what's going to happen next in this superb surreal thriller. The acting is spine-chillingly good & the settings are eerily beautiful. Like the later film Lovers of the Arctic Circle, this is a film you will want to watch again & again
