Bodas De Sangre (aka Blood Wedding) (1981)

A dress rehearsal of a flamenco ballet based on Federico Garcia Lorca's tragedy BLOOD WEDDING. Performed in a bare rehearsal space with minimal costume and props. Directed by Carlos Saura (CRIA CUERVOS). The first of what would become Saura's flamenco trilogy followed by CARMEN and EL AMOR BRUJO. The focus here is on the dance and the dialog is minimal as is any exposition. Sauras knows that the "star" of the film is the dance and he doesn't get in the way of the dance while Teodoro Escamilla's elegant cinematography follows the graceful dancers adroitly. Antonio Gades (who also did the choreography) and Cristina Hoyos are the lead dancers and both have a strong dancer's presence. It's a compact 72 minutes. If you're into dance, you should find this riveting. With Juan Antonio Jimenez, Carmen Villena and Pilar Cardenas.