‘El Conde’ (2023) Review: The Bloodthirsty Legacy of Pinochet
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Pablo Larraín’s dark comedy, El Conde (The Count), imagines a parallel universe in which the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is still alive, but there’s a twist — he’s a vampire. The Pinochet regime ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990 after he led a coup d’état that ousted Socialist president Salvador Allende. Under the dictator’s power, the regime tortured, killed and disappeared over 3,000 people. El Conde is a bizarre and outlandish dark comedy where the 250-year-old Augusto Pinochet is a blood-sucking vampire who desires to end his life.
The movie starts with a narration that illustrates the life of Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell). After faking his death, Pinochet is forced to reside on the outskirts of Santiago with his wife, Lucía (Gloria Münchmeyer), and servant, Fyodor (Alfredo Castro), in a ruined mansion. The building is slowly crumbling. The inside is filled with portraits, war memorabilia, and books, most of which date back to his regime. August enlists the help of his servant, Fyodor, who freezes human hearts in the refrigerator in an underground room.
Unlike Fyodor, who was transformed into a vampire, August refuses to bite Lucia, even after her many requests. Pinochet wishes to relinquish his life and chooses to stop drinking blood. When his five middle-aged mortal children learn that he has changed his mind regarding their inheritance, they arrive at the ruined mansion to reason with him. They have grown impatient and wish to find the secret bank accounts hidden everywhere.
One of the siblings enlists the help of Carmencita (Paula Luchsinger). She is a nun with a speciality in accounting and exorcisms. She interviews the family members and uncovers the truth behind Pinochet’s regime while attempting to perform an exorcism to eliminate the evil vampire and save the Church from financial ruin.
Larraín observes Pinochet’s parallel universe with hilarious, never-ending gags. The dictator is portrayed like a real-life villain, never letting the audience forget what he has done during his 250 years of life. From escaping as an anti-revolutionary soldier in King Louis XVI to finally settling in Chile and ruling over the country after a coup, his immortality is challenged. He goes through every nefarious scheme to maintain his immortality — even faking his death and attending his funeral. Larraín regards Pinochet as a dictator but a vampire who shows no remorse for the atrocity of his crimes. This theme is embedded into the movie endlessly, where Pinochet doesn’t quite understand why he isn’t a celebrated politician, unlike the other presidents. It’s a chilling reminder that politicians are blood-sucking vampires, even in the real world.
El Conde is shot in monochromatic hues inspired by gothic-toned visuals. There are several scenes with beautiful imagery of a wide shot of the ruined mansion and Pinochet’s various artefacts and memorabilia lying around the property, including the severed head of Marie Antoinette and the guillotine that killed her. Other notable scenes include shots of Pinochet taking flight in his military cape over the property to feast on his victims. There are other show-stopping shots with creative qualities and mesmerising compositions.
Ultimately, El Conde remains a stylistic movie that doesn’t have a clear moral line. It is filled with continuous gags of Pinochet’s vampiric life and his desire to end it. Perhaps Larraín approached this film as a challenge. Is this movie enough to put a stake through the heart of the blood-sucking vampire and dictator? Larraín observes a modern and humorous approach to answer to the dark and political history of Chile’s past.
Strike Funds: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1weorhmG1H7cszY3rGHCpNYsgleegkuOSH7rD47JzSAQ/edit
Solidarity with striking film and television workers: https://freelancesolidarity.org/wga-sag-strike-solidarity/
