Spain | 2013 | 95 min.
Director: Santi Amodeo
Genre: Comedy | Spanish with English subtitles
When you think of a Latino film festival, you probably think of subtitled experimental cinema from Latin America and Iberia. ¿Quién Mató a Bambi? (Who Killed Bambi?), written and directed by Seville-born filmmaker Santi Amodeo, is nothing like that.
This comedy of errors begins when David (Quim Gutiérrez) is confronted by his boss, who has just discovered that David is sleeping with his daughter. During the argument David’s boss has a heart attack. Meanwhile, two pizza shop owners (Ernesto Alterio and Enrico Vecchi) carry out a plot to kidnap David’s boss, the president of a large company, but end up nabbing the wrong man — to say the least. David and his friend Mudo (Julián Villagrán) try to get David’s unconscious boss to his mansion where a birthday party is being held. Paths are crossed, bodies are switched, and hilarity (or something like it) ensues.
The production is legit, and there’s even a cameo appearance by Andrés Iniesta, but the filmmakers seem to have relied too much on procuring the star FC Barcelona midfielder and two beautiful co-stars (Clara Lago and Úrsula Corberó) and less on making a good flick. There are a few funny bits and a couple of decent action scenes — I guess — but Who Killed Bambi? isn’t a movie you’d even recommend to a stranger, much less see a second time.
It’s based on the 2004 Mexican film Matando Cabos, and while I’m usually apt to view the original after watching an adaptation, the lack of inspiration in Bambi left me inclined to skip the original this time.
Having screened a number of Latin American and Iberian films, I can safely say that Who Killed Bambi? is the least worthwhile film I’ve ever watched in Spanish. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that Bambi is that terrible a film. It’s just that it’s banal. At times I felt as though I were watching Weekend at Bernie’s — which is a fun movie, but again, I’ve already seen it.
Watch Who Killed Bambi? if you don’t own a library card and there’s nothing to watch on Netflix.
[Photo: Chicago Latino Film Festival]