Kubrick on Carlos Saura and Peppermint Frappé (1967)
>I first encountered Saura’s work by chance and in a rather strange way one day when I got home quite late and turned on the television; a film in Spanish with subtitles, that I knew absolutely nothing about, and besides, I’d missed the first half hour. It was hard for me to follow and understand but, at the same time, I was convinced it was the film of a great director.I watched the rest of the film glued to the TV set and when it was over I picked up a newspaper and saw that it was Peppermint Frappé by Carlos Saura. Later I found a copy of the film, which of course I watched from the beginning and with great enthusiasm, and since then all of Saura’s films that I’ve seen have confirmed the high quality of his work. He is an extremely brilliant director, and what strikes me in particular is the marvellous use he makes of his actors.
If you've never seen Carlos Saura's films, I'd highly recommend them. In the very restrictive environment of Franco Spain, he made a series of really weird, transgressive, dreamlike films that definitely have a Kubrickian aspect. (Something I wrote about him and his work, if anyone's interested.)
Easy to see why Kubrick was immediately hooked by his work. Peppermint Frappé especially is a really strange, haunting film, kind of a sixties Spanish Vertigo.
Have you seen any of Saura's films?