It’s hard to reference the word ‘Gold’ without invoking three major pop culture references – the recent Matthew McConaughey vehicle, the catchy Spandau Ballet song of the same name and of course, the signature catchphrase “I Love GOLD” from Goldmember, the third and seemingly final entry of the Austin Powers franchise. Thus, it seems like a real ambitious move for director Agustin Diaz Yanes to title his latest historical epic after the prominent metal, as its name suggests a level of alluring enticement, with attributes of wealth, grandeur and prestige.
Funnily enough, the title ends up feeling ironic, thanks to being attached to this meandering, lifeless picture whose only ‘glistening’ aspect is the glaze of sweat that shrouds our main characters.
Gold, Always Believe In Your Soul
Gold (Oro), based upon a short story by Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte (who co-wrote the film) starts off with a pretty promising premise for a grisly action adventure. Back in 1538, in the jungles of Central America, a diverse crew of destitute men and women are banded together in a hopeless quest for immense wealth, as they venture towards the heavily-rumoured city of El Dorado, a mystical land of untold riches where it’s said that “the roofs are made of gold”.
Sent on behalf of the emperor, this downtrodden pack of Pirates of the Caribbean cast-rejects must battle an unforgiving and hostile rainforest terrain, a violently combative tribe who wish to rid these gun-wielding outsiders, and if that wasn’t enough, they have to survive each other (which when typed out, sounds like the tagline for every 80’s buddy cop film).
Unfortunately, this drama ends up becoming a repetitive episodic affair, as there is zero dramatic urgency because the writers have chosen to focus on its historical authenticity rather than engaging characters or a consistently thrilling narrative. The attention to detail on the costume design and old school weaponry is something worth praising, but it’s all wasted on such a forgettable journey to the extent that, in a real meta twist, it seems like the director is more lost than the characters he’s formed on-screen.
Towards the end of Gold, when the predictable payoff becomes as obvious as it’s ever going to be, I realized that I knew very little about the characters, and felt even less. Consequently, the film’s only well-staged moment of action, reserved for the last 10 minutes, doesn’t quite work as it should because the emotional connection to the events on-screen have already been thoroughly severed, detached through a series of meaningless encounters and expendable deaths.
It’s not worth identifying any of the main characters, as each of the gruff, dishevelled members of the misguided troupe purely exist as weapon-carrying cardboard cutouts, whose identities are solely revolved around their masculine power struggles and an affection for reckless violence. Forget about the female characters; they are merely treated as sexual objects, any sense of their own individuality and agency are merely hinted at, existing as a faint mirage much like the fabled city of El Dorado.
The only potentially interesting character is Requena (Juan Diego), a shaggy acolyte who has devoted himself to the local tribesmen, whose mere presence hints at an intriguing plot shift that isn’t capitalised upon. With his care-free attitude and eclectic wardrobe, one can see the clear influence of Dennis Hopper’s scene-stealing character from Apocalypse Now. Whilst Yanes avoids directly ripping him off, I honestly would’ve appreciated any form of energy or life injected into this limp adventure, even if it meant plagiarising an American classic (this is not the only homage to Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Vietnam odyssey, including a very purposeful opening landscape shot).
Bloodless Battles
This would’ve all been forgivable had the action set pieces and callous bouts of violence actually been portrayed in an honest fashion, indulging in the gore and physical disfigurement that is frequently hinted at. Despite the high amount of sword stabbing, throat slashes and piercing arrow injuries, Yanes has made an incredibly questionable decision to censor all of the extreme brutality, which indirectly blocks any of it from its intended impact.
Gunshot injuries are treated with a bloodless clutching of the wound, which is something that you might see in a 1940’s Western serial or your local drama production of Death of A Salesman, not a big action epic which wants to depict the barbarity of the Garrote but none of its grisly consequences.
Even if you used the same insufficient script, a good level of gore could’ve made this historical yarn palatable, really emphasising the savageness of the escalating in-fighting and tribal wars. If there’s no interesting characters, unfolding narrative or thematic exploration, and you’ve chosen to cut out all of the attractive genre qualities, then what is the point?
Classic American directors such as Robert Aldrich, Walter Hill or Sam Peckinpah would’ve excelled here, as they were filmmakers who understood how to weave character pathos into these merciless, macho-flavoured action pictures that focused on desperate men who’ll do anything to attain their unreachable goals. The grounded realism and invasive close ups of these filthy men often feels similar to Alejandro G Inarritu’s The Revenant – and whatever your thoughts are on that particular film, at least they committed to the on-screen cinematic bloodshed to help authenticate the gripping realism.
Gold instead feels like it wimps out, lacking any provocative carnage or startling flashes of blood that might’ve interested fringe genre fans.
Paco Femenia’s cinematography works well when dealing in single establishing shots, but the majority of the action is captured with the same level of unimpressive spirit as the rest of the movie’s technical aspects. While there are recurrent shots of the forest that indicates its unquestionable beauty, the camerawork makes no attempt to aestheticise the vast landscape. By avoiding taking advantage of the spectacular or lyrical imagery of the land, the director has removed any mythical nature from the unique backdrop, instead transforming the transcendental rain forest into another anonymous segment in this insipid mess.
Gold: Conclusion
Agustin Diaz Yanes’ Gold is anything but. This watered-down journey to the fabled city of El Dorado is hobbled by its complete lack of defined characters, stable storytelling and commitment to its violent nature. It’s hard to take this film seriously when it depicts so much violence, but chooses to censor it in a way which that is detrimental to its impact, especially when it’s willing to show a rape scene, but not someone being shot with an arrow.
Honestly, if you want to see an entertaining film about characters looking for El Dorado, I’d have to recommend the Dreamworks Animated film – at least that had a story.
What are some of your favourite Spanish films?
Gold will be playing at the 2018 Spanish Film Festival, which is touring Australia from April 26th – May 16th, screening times can be found here.
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