Jean-Blaise Junod

The painter Léopold Robert took his own life on 20 March 1835 in his Venice studio, at the height of his fame. The central character of this film, the narrator, attempts to discover the causes of the artist's suicide with the help of his voluminous correspondence.

Duende, the title of this documentary, is a richly complex and untranslatably idiomatic Spanish word which evokes the mysterious, ineffable quality that the art of bullfighting has for its devotees. This film explores the process by which an apprentice bullfighter, Carmelo, became a matador, a term which is reserved only for those who are recognized as being fully qualified to serve as a central player in this ritualistic drama, la corrida, which is sometimes incorrectly described as being a "sport." Various senior and retired bullfighters and their relatives recount their observations and experiences, and Carmelo re-enacts his coming-of-age as a bullfighter for the cameras. Those who are already convinced that la corrida is a celebration of the mystery of life and death may particularly appreciate this respectful documentary.

The painter Léopold Robert took his own life on 20 March 1835 in his Venice studio, at the height of his fame. The central character of this film, the narrator, attempts to discover the causes of the artist's suicide with the help of his voluminous correspondence.

The painter Léopold Robert took his own life on 20 March 1835 in his Venice studio, at the height of his fame. The central character of this film, the narrator, attempts to discover the causes of the artist's suicide with the help of his voluminous correspondence.

Duende, the title of this documentary, is a richly complex and untranslatably idiomatic Spanish word which evokes the mysterious, ineffable quality that the art of bullfighting has for its devotees. This film explores the process by which an apprentice bullfighter, Carmelo, became a matador, a term which is reserved only for those who are recognized as being fully qualified to serve as a central player in this ritualistic drama, la corrida, which is sometimes incorrectly described as being a "sport." Various senior and retired bullfighters and their relatives recount their observations and experiences, and Carmelo re-enacts his coming-of-age as a bullfighter for the cameras. Those who are already convinced that la corrida is a celebration of the mystery of life and death may particularly appreciate this respectful documentary.