Writer/director Chema García Ibarra has routinely stated that his thematic motivations in his filmography are to work within the artistic movement of costumbrismo, the Hispanic art of depicting local everyday life within the context of his works. In his full-length directorial debut The Sacred Spirit, he does just that, centering the focus of his pseudo-science fictional tragicomedy on the people of his hometown Elche after they experience the kidnapping of a little girl. Employing non-actors, Ibarra weaponizes the very unemotive reactions of his cast into a film that feels alternately like Bunuel and Wes Anderson; its immaculate focus on camera framing, scenic composition, and occasional quirky humor belies its visceral subject matter.
With that said, I must admit that throughout much of The Sacred Spirit, I found myself less enjoying the film itself than marveling at its mysterious lack of direction. Ibarra’s script pairs two unlikely scenarios together for much of its runtime, only brought together by one centralized character, Jose Manuel (Nacho Fernandez). On the one hand, The Sacred Spirit presents a kidnapping that affects the whole town, with the media continually reporting on it in lackluster stories often segmented humorously by Easter celebration tips. On the other, we have Jose Manuel and his group of ufologists, who are obsessed with the idea of a sacred spirit – an ancient Egyptian being that can inhabit a particular human being and cause a profound worldly change.
Ibarra alternates between the two for a little while before revealing Jose Manuel’s involvement in his niece’s kidnapping. Here we find Ibarra’s costumbrismo, exploring the nuances of Jose Manuel’s life that draw him to the world of the occult and spiritual. His personal life is pretty barren – he takes care of his ailing mother, runs his cafe, and ends his day, and Ibarra focuses on this lack of substance to explain why Jose Manuel might become obsessed with his New Age spiritualism. Likewise, other characters remark during their ufologist meetings that this group is really all they have in life. Instead of mocking questionable beliefs, The Sacred Spirit simply presents them as internal facets of human existence, ways that people cope with their lives.
While Ibarra’s quirky brand of humor often relies on the actors’ aloofness, the film’s fairly slow pacing might turn some viewers off. Its final moments, though, presented to the viewer but not Jose Manuel himself and through television subtitle instead of dialogue, are strikingly poetic and sad. For all of The Sacred Spirit‘s quirks and often innocent portrayals of its characters, Ibarra takes it on a dark turn that ends on a haunting note for all involved. It doesn’t place blame on any one character, and in fact The Sacred Spirit often finds Jose Manuel as much a victim as the little girls he has kidnapped. The way Ibarra presents the film’s disturbing climax is truly unique, and subsequently changed my entire outlook on the film itself.
Therefore, The Sacred Spirit is something to be experienced, even if in certain moments the film feels like it’s aimlessly trudging along. Additional viewings also provide much more missed context with symbolic imagery and themes that only become apparent during the conclusion. While this will still not appeal to a certain demographic, the experience is certainly rewarding for those open to Ibarra’s brand of nearly documentary-esque science fiction/reality.
Blu-ray
Arrow Video has released The Sacred Spirit on Blu-ray with a high definition master that was supplied by Heretic. Other than the fact that it’s noted this is presented in original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, there’s really nothing else noted in Arrow’s liner notes for this transfer. However, the results are very good especially considering Ibarra’s use of 16mm for the film. Background details are very important to the film, as are particular framing, and this release features great representation of them both, with a medium-bodied but noticeable grain scale. Dark scenes are well-delineated, and the film’s warm but slightly sepia-ed color tone looks gorgeous. Overall, a great filmic experience on this Blu-ray.
Audio is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish track as well as an LPCM 2.0 stereo Spanish track. Overall, the 5.1 audio sounds good but does not make a lot of use of the rear audio channels nor low-end tones despite a few instances of EDM-style bass. Most of this track is situated to the front speakers, especially for dialogue, and I don’t think many listeners will notice a whole lot of difference between the two audio experiences besides a bit more ambience from the 5.1 track. Either way, though, these tracks sound good and representative of Ibarra’s intentions to keep things simple.
This release is packed with extras, including a 20 minute interview with Ibarra who documents his inspirations and usual themes for his works; it’s an enlightening look into his writing thought process. Also included are two new video essays, one from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas who explores the element of surveillance and the Eye of Horus that is often visualized in the film as well as a look at the themes of capitalism in the film that influence the beliefs of its characters by Josh Nelson. These are also excellent, thought-provoking looks at the metaphors at play in the film.
There are four behind-the-scenes EPK-style featurettes, as well as a six-part mockumentary format with Elche Vision anchor Lorena Iglesias. Promo videos with the characters from the film provide short vignettes into their personalities. Uncut TV clips that are shown in the film are presented in full. An image gallery and theatrical trailer round out the first disc housing the movie.
A second disc is also included which contains the collected short films of Ibarra, including “The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5,” “Protoparticles,” “Mystery,” “Uranes,” “The Disco Shines,” and “The Golden Legend.” These are great complementary features to watch to see where Ibarra got his start, and it’s nice that Arrow has collected these for the Blu-ray format.
Finally, the box itself contains a booklet featuring essays from Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Pablo Vergal, as well as reversible cover artwork and dual-sided medium-sized glossy poster. A slipcover with the same front artwork is also included.
Extra Features
- High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation
- Exclusive second disc containing a selection of award-winning short films by director Chema Garcia Ibarra
- NEW Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg, author of The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-fi
- NEW Fold-out poster featuring original and commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
- NEW Reversible sleeve featuring original and commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
Disc 1 Feature & Extras
- High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation
- DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio, LPCM 2.0 Stereo
- Optional English subtitles
- NEW Beyond the Eye of Horus, a visual essay about the use of surveillance and Egyptology in The Sacred Spirit by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (1080p; 16:53)
- NEW Pyramid Scheme, a visual essay examining conspiracy, class and capitalism in The Sacred Spirit by Josh Nelson (1080p; 20:59)
- NEW Domestic Science Fiction, an interview with writer-director Chema Garcia Ibarra (1080p; 18:46)
- Behind the Scenes, four short featurettes shot during production
- Cinematographer and production (1080i; 2:28)
- Director (1080i; 2:33)
- Production Design (1080i; 2:16)
- Cast (1080i; 2:25)
- Elche Vision, a series of six location reports about the making of the film, hosted by actress Lorena Iglesias in character as Esther Armengol, presenter of The Sacred Spirit’s fictional local TV show
- Episode 1 (1080i; 1:40)
- Episode 2 (1080i; 2:50)
- Episode 3 (1080i; 1:40)
- Episode 4 (1080i; 1:51)
- Episode 5 (1080i; 1:28)
- Episode 6 (1080i; 1:22)
- Promotional videos in which the characters of The Sacred Spirit talk about themselves
- Grandma (1080i; 0:15)
- Andrea (1080i; 0:18)
- Jose Manuel (1080i; 0:08)
- Mum (1080i; 0:15)
- The Bad (1080i; 0:15)
- Raul (1080i; 0:19)
- Lady (1080i; 0:19)
- UFO (1080i; 0:18)
- Raul Navarro (1080i; 0:18)
- Uncut TV Clips, background television broadcasts shot especially for the film and presented here in full
- Advert: Miguel Porras – Consultancy and Legal Services (1080i; 0:35)
- News: Shoemakers Demonstration (1080i; 1:47)
- News: Explosion (1080i; 1:02)
- Magazine: Easter Special (1080i; 3:21)
- Image gallery (chapter breaks; 0:05)
- Theatrical trailer (1080p; 1:36)
Disc 2 Domestic Sci-fi: The Short Films Of Chema Garcia Ibarra (Limited Edition Exclusive)
- The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5 (2008) 7 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner (1080i; 6:18)
- Protoparticles (2013) 8 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner (1080i; 7:15)
- Mystery (2013) 12 mins, Berlin International Film Festival Award Winner (720p; 12:04)
- Uranes (2014) 59 mins (1080i; 59:14)
- The Disco Shines (2016) 12 mins, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Award Winner (1080p; 12:12)
- The Golden Legend (2019) 11 mins, Ann Arbor Film Festival Award Winner (1080p; 11:07)
Verdict
The Sacred Spirit won’t be for everyone, but for those that want to experience Ibarra’s unique blend of comedy and tragedy, it’s definitely a recommended viewing experience. Arrow Video has assembled an excellent release for this film, including pretty much every possible feature (besides an audio commentary). The only caveat: I wish the multi-part featurettes had a Play All option.
