UMBRACLE On Blu-ray From Severin

 

My last post dealt with VAMPIR-CUADECUC, which Severin has put on a Blu-ray also containing UMBRACLE. Both films were directed by Spanish artist Pere Portabella, and both feature Christopher Lee, who is the main reason to watch these films. 

UMBRACLE has a lot in common with VAMPIR-CUADECUC other than director and star. Both films are in a high contrast black & white, and both have a soundtrack filled with discordant sounds and strange musical choices. Both films also have almost no dialogue whatsoever. But while VAMPIR-CUADECUC at least deals with the filming of Jess Franco's COUNT DRACULA, UMBRACLE is far more idiosyncratic and harder to pin down. 

Much of UMBRACLE has Christopher Lee wandering around various Spanish locations, doing such things as examining exhibits in a museum and buying cigars. Along the way we are shown a couple of men discussing the censorship involved in the Spanish film industry, a very long excerpt from a film made in the 1950s about the Spanish Civil War, and a clown act on an empty stage. Lee also has a couple of encounters with a mysterious young blonde woman, played by Jeannine Mestre, who was one of Dracula's brides in COUNT DRACULA. 

The big highlight of the film is when Lee states that he wants to sing--and he does, first in German and then in French. Lee then decides to recite Poe's THE RAVEN, but first he goes on to "explain" the poem....and his explanation is almost as long as the recital. (Those who know Lee's reputation for pontificating will be rather amused.) Lee's singing and poetry reading are worth buying the Blu-ray alone. 

As for the rest of the film, what does it all mean? It's supposed to be a critical statement on the Franco regime in Spain, but for most viewers it will be just a random set of weird events strung together. Near the end we are shown chickens going to their doom in a slaughterhouse, while a cover version of The Carpenters' "Close To You" plays on the soundtrack, not exactly the most subtle moment. 

The highly political Portabella and the very British Lee would seem to be a strange pairing, but the director was able to get an international star in his very non-mainstream film, while Lee was able to get some critical plaudits beyond his usual acting work. (In Jonathan Rigby's book CHRISTOPHER LEE: THE AUTHORIZED SCREEN HISTORY, it states that according to Portabella Lee appeared in UMBRACLE so he could get the chance to sample some Spanish golf courses.) 

As a huge Christopher Lee fan, I'm very happy that Severin decided to put VAMPIR-CUADECUC and UMBRACLE on high quality Blu-ray. Both films are among the most obscure items in Lee's acting career, and they both allow the viewer to get a better appreciation of Lee as an actor and a person. VAMPIR-CUADECUC is much more watchable than UMBRACLE, but both movies are not "normal" productions.