Film Exposure

For a long time, there has been something special about Spanish genre films, and more specifically horror films. There was a period when it seemed each new Iberian horror movie was trying to upstage the last in terms of ambition, frights, and cinematic quality. But Spanish horror can draw from a long-standing tradition in the country. When the discussion shifts to action as Kike Narcea’s film attempts to do, the threads to a common cinematic past become more tenuous, more fragile. With a title like that, I’ll Crush Y’All seems to make a promise: You think Spain can’t make kick-ass action films? Just go on and let the film punch you in the face!

The Spanish action genre has been surviving for years through the occasional action thrillers that pop up here and there. Gone are the times of the Spanish Westerns of course, but the country has proved capable of producing isolated little actioners that can be worthwhile, such as little gems like The Fury of a Patient Man, or more mainstream fare like the recent Xtremo and Below Zero, both on Netflix, both formally efficient, and both slightly too clinical and clean in execution. What’s been missing however is a typical Spanish flavor, a type of idiosyncrasy that would set the genre apart on the international scene.

I’ll Crush Y’All, or Os Reviento in its original title, is about ex-boxer and ex-convict Tarado, aka “Whacky”, who has finally put his life back in order after a prison spell. He has gotten a job at a garage, has moved in with his ailing 90-year-old father, and broken up with his crazy girlfriend. But when his father suddenly dies, shady characters start knocking at his door in the dead of night. Soon, his brother and a whole slew of dodgy individuals have reentered his life, triggering a chaotic, bloody downward spiral of violence.

Meet Mario Mayo, presented as the Spanish Statham, but whose build and face – sculpted for a life in celluloids – are more reminiscent of physical actors like Lino Ventura. He doesn’t exude the same charisma yet, but his presence and acting ability can lead him to the top should his career take the right turns. He appeared in small roles in other Spanish action films like The Vault and Unknown Origins, but I’ll Crush Y’All is clearly the film he has been waiting for to explode on the national scene, and hopefully beyond.

The rest of the cast is equally convincing, with many actors finding joy in portraying colorful characters that all have their own quirkiness. Character interactions are of particular interest, with the criminal gang harboring relationships that mix business obligations and quasi-familial closeness in a very Spanish way. The tone maintains a kind of raw verisimilitude that avoids formalist mannerisms in favor of a naturalistic handheld filmmaking approach.

This approach informs the main attraction of the film, namely the brawling. While some shots and stunt sequences still appear rough around the edges, or even a bit amateurish at times, the sheer energy emanating from the melees carries the film beyond the simple curiosity into the potential game-changer territory for the Spanish industry. Director Kike Narcea stays close to his performers, but also allows his shots to breathe, alternating between medium shots and close-ups. It’s never about any idea of combat perfection: just like the filming techniques, the fights are rough, street-like, mixing boxing moves with survival instinct. The main goal is immersion and pleasure, and the film, without being mind-blowing, is satisfactory enough on this side. Of particular interest is the obvious desire of the director to use some tropes of action cinema that are well-known to the fans (dual wielding gunfight taken to the ground, lateral tracking shot of someone running and shooting, etc.), while integrating them in a specific aesthetic, detached from the heightened worlds these tropes usually appear in. It’s like watching a drama… with tons of violence.

The film is fairly generous. Although it does take a whole half hour to get started, the second half is filled with fist fights and shootouts. Everything is small-scale, of course, we are not talking city-wide manhunts and armies colliding, but that scale helps it keep its momentum and nurture the audience’s involvement with Whacky. Extreme brutality and gore are present, but kept in check; this is not a splatterfest, as over-the-top finishes would break the tone and weaken the film’s narrative consistency. Humor is an essential ingredient here as well. Not the cynical kind, but one that harkens back to silent comedies (Tarado who keeps throwing punches even as his opponent has fallen to the ground), or who plays a bit with the codes of the genre (like when the music suddenly recalls that of the classic Spanish Westerns).

Some things that might appear comedic convey perhaps a stronger theme. The night before his death, Whacky’s old father lectures him about his God-given gift of being able to whoop ass. “Nothing good’s ever come out of my fights” replies Tarado. But his father is not talking about sports; he’s talking about life, and the violence necessary to sustain it. Peace (eternal, for some) only comes at the end of a long, painful, bloody battle, and it might not last forever. Through his film, Narcea ephemerally rekindles life in la España vacia, this rural Spain that is fighting a losing battle against depopulation. It has rarely seemed so full of life than when it is being painted red.

I’m not here to tell you that I’ll Crush Y’All is a revolution that will shake the global action scene to its core; but it has what it takes to plant the seeds necessary for a potential Spanish action renaissance. In the meantime, why say no to a rough, mean, engaging brawler that whoops ass? It’s got nothing to lose, and everything to give.

I’ll Crush Y’All – No European release date yet
Directed by Kike Narcea
With Mario Mayo, Diego París, Fabia Castro