Tardes de Soledad

Peruvian Andrés Roca Rey is considered one of the last great icons of bullfighting. Together with his entourage, he travels from arena to arena, through a world where life and death constantly intersect — surrounded by blood, bravado, big balls and beautiful embroidery. As the camera follows him up close, and even closer to the death and decadence that surround him, the hypnotic images drag us to the boundary between beauty and cruelty. Because as Roca Rey performs his daring dance with death, the question arises: can something so violent also be beautiful? In Tardes de Soledad, director Albert Serra offers a penetrating look at the world of tauromachy — a tradition that is celebrated and despised in equal measure. With the camera close to the skin of the matador, Serra not only shows a physical struggle, but also reveals a man's world in which loneliness and vulnerability are hidden behind blood-soaked suits. Without judging, but with an impeccable cinematographic style, Serra confronts the viewer with his own moral boundaries in the battle between man and animal, art and barbarism. The result is a film that is both intense and intimate, brutal and enchanting, confrontational and poetic. Tardes de Soledad was awarded the Concha de Oro at the San Sebastián Film Festival.