Rife with subtext and overloaded with metaphor, THE NIGHT ELVIS DIED (LA NIT QUE VA MORIR L’ELVIS) is a challenging but ultimately rewarding film about intolerance, conflict, and, most importantly, passion.

Set in the same village that hosted the first Catalan film after the Spanish Civil War, and comprised of mainly amateur actors, THE NIGHT ELVIS DIED concerns Aureli, a disturbed amnesiac with a violent past, and Maria, a director of a Passion play at the local theatre. As the play falls victim to financial troubles and possible sabotage, Aureli’s memories begin to return and their stories converge to reveal a violent conspiracy.

The most striking feature of this film, conceived by producer Tony Espinosa and directed by Oriol Ferrer, is the intricacy with which it explores its themes. Although deeply religious, the film seems to use religion as a context in which to examine the violence and underlying guilt relating to Catholicism in modern Catalonia, as opposed to overtly commenting on religion itself.

The dark humour and irony strongly resembles the films of the Coen brothers, whilst its mix of fantasy and reality draws heavily on David Lynch…

The film references a vast range of filmmakers, drawing motifs and imagery from both American and European cinema. The dark humour and irony strongly resembles the films of the Coen brothers, whilst its mix of fantasy and reality draws heavily on David Lynch, particularly in that the horrors lying beneath it are the cause of Aureli’s fantastical escape. Further to this, THE NIGHT ELVIS DIED explores conflicts and contradictions between rationality and madness, and religion and villainy in an incredibly complex cross-section of Catalan culture.

Inevitably, the film will divide opinion. It is undeniably convoluted as a result of the sheer volume of theme and subtext, and the lack of a coherent, rational explanation will draw criticism from some viewers. However, its complexity does not necessarily translate as a negative for the cinema, and THE NIGHT ELVIS DIED is a highly contemplative and metaphorical reflection of a Catalan society with cultural conflicts and intolerances.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHvSpZlgj3g