Much like the renegade lovers of Terrence Malick's classic independent debut "Badlands," the renegade lovers of Carlos Saura's "Deprisa, Deprisa" are hollowed-out creatures with jittery instincts and a desperate need to escape, more than anything, boredom and the inevitably painful disillusionment of young adulthood. However, Malick imbues his film with a nostalgia of lost youth that gives way, almost hypnotically (Sissy Spacek's Holly seems to be in a trance the entire film), to the empty-headed, unaffected, face-life-head-on bravado of the dissatisfied and delusional Kit. Unlike Kit and Holly, Pablo and Angela of Saura's film aren't hypnotized or going through the motions. Their crime spree is not an existential courtship either. Theirs is a materialistic crusade against the press of time and the demands of society. They will make their living on their own terms, and they're not in the least bit afraid to don ski-masks and cheap fake mustaches, to carry pistols and sawn-off shotguns, and they're not afraid to make a run for it. For them, it's a carnival ride, whereas with Kit and Holly, it was a spiritual journey through the hostility of the deserted badlands. Saura is not so romantic. He sees his youths as ticking time bombs with their heads far above the clouds. The enthusiasm with which they carry out their makeshift robberies is indicative of a childish imitation of such romantic outlaws as Bonnie and Clyde. They are in over their heads, playing catch up with their fantasies. What Pablo and Angela fail to realize is that their fantasies are much to fast to catch. Hence the title. Saura portrays this with such distinction, with such control and attention to character that we cannot help but be caught up with Pablo and Angela despite our unease in watching their recklessness. This is the mark of a truly powerful filmmaker, one who can bring us along the journey and make us feel the feelings of the characters in the process. When Angela walks off into the purple evening sky during the last shot of the film, we know that she knows her life has lost its luster in the furious pursuit of some wild dream. We know that the future only holds a lack of the past for her and that any speed she maintained with her lover is coming to a screeching, unforgiving halt.
Review of Deprisa, Deprisa
