Temerario
is an unusual piece that mixes several genres. It combines
a traditional western iconography with elements of horror
and fantasy in a twisted, dark animation. It is a fiction
piece that works on an emotional level, founded on an odd
narrative structure and very particular visual style.
In fact, the film's visual style - the Old West seen through
Hollywood's idealistic 1950s eyes, warped into a Salvadore
Dalian nightmare - is something that works its way through
the film in support of the film's story of a gunslinger left
for dead who winds up battling the devil and confronting his
own Dark Side.
Temerario was produced by students of the National Film and
Television School in the UK as part of their MA curriculum
and it started as an effort to create something unique. At
the very least, it looks like they've succeeded in that!
"When
I first thought about a concept for my graduation film, I
though about why I wanted to make films in the first place.
I wanted to make the kind of films I love - to create those
cool characters that I watched in awe as a kid. I wanted to
make a film about coolness, so my first pitch was: a showdown
between an old cowboy and the Devil. I wanted to have an experienced
cowboy fighting for his soul against the Devil, who is arguably
the coolest character of them all.
While working closely with my producer and designer, and through
meticulous research, we came to the conclusion that the confidence
that distinguishes cool characters comes from a traumatic
experience in the past. Instead of dealing with their pain,
they often cast aside their feelings, becoming reckless and
embracing temerity, which is where the Spanish word ‘Temerario’
comes from.
"The
confidence that distinguishes cool characters comes
from a traumatic experience in the past.."
- Carl Zitelmann
"While
working on a story background for the showdown, the Devil
started to morph into the cowboy’s own demon. It became
more interesting for the cowboy to fight himself. As the
fear of death caused the cowboy’s shadowside to emerge,
the battle he had to fight became about saving his soul.
We
began to develop a visual style to fit the story and transmit
the narrative without the use of dialogue. We had a very
experimental approach to the aesthetics and wanted to
create a distinctive style by mixing graphic elements
from Manga animation and vintage comic books. Together
with epic cinematography this resulted in the epic feel
we were looking for.
The
whole project took exactly one year in the making from
the moment I pitched the idea to my fellow students, to
the day we had the final piece on tape. It was a quite
stressful project but was really fulfilling for everyone
who took part in it. We put our hearts and souls into
our film and we are very proud of the result."
