800 Bullets (2002)

That was an excellent one.

hyped garbage

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I found "800 balas" to be a very entertaining film, if a little juvenile. The story follows a young boy in search of his grandfather. Carlos' (the young boy) father was a stunt man who died in an accident before Carlos was old enough to remember him. He goes in search of his grandfather to discover the true story his mother refuses to tell him. Carlos finds his grandfather working in a Wild West tourist town where spaghetti westerns were once filmed. The exploits Carlos and his grandfather get into are entertaining and full of action, although fairly predictable. Carlos' grandfather is played by Sancho Gracia who is probably the highlight of the film. He very convincingly plays a depressed alcoholic who dreams of the old days when he was a stunt double for Clint Eastwood and other Hollywood stars, while also harboring guilt over the death of his son (Carlos' father). Overall the films is good, but not great. The action sequences are very well thought out and the director's somewhat wild sense of humor fits in well with the overall tone of the film. In particular the ending sequence skillfully plays on suspense, action and humor to bring the film to a satisfying and sentimental conclusion. The location of the film in central Spain is very beautiful and the film does a good job of using the landscape and incorporating it into the story. The film is worth watching if only for its pure entertainment factor and for Sancho Gracia's superb performance.

Carlos a young, unbearable, spoiled, kid suddenly discovers some hidden secrets about his family. He never had a chance to meet his father but knows that his grandfather is a stuntman who worked in famous westerns many years ago, in those mythical times when the Americans were riding the earth in Almeria.His mother was guarding these secrets from him so on the first chance Carlos decides to explore the unknown part of his family, and escapes to a touristy place in the middle of nowhere called "Texas Hollywood" to meet his grand father. When his mother finds out she can't take it and she swears by all means necessary to destroy the Wild West village. But cowboys are not cowards and here is where the movie really kick's into overdrive.This is a phenomenal masterpiece homege to many spaghetti-western classics, it's a duel in-between reality and dream and it's definitely this director's most complete work. The visual side of the movie is nothing short of spectacular and it's a real shame that masters like Sergio Leone or John Ford could not witness it they would love it!The title comes from the main characters budget of being able to buy only 800 bullets to defend his village and his friend against the police.Characters are fascinating and memorable from the man who's hanged through the whole movie to the horse dragging stuntman cowboy, but the central figure is Julian (Sancho Garcia) in an epic role of a famous Clint Eastwood double.There are many brilliant moments and the movie from the opening scene is just a one of those rare movies which holds your attention all the way.This, the directors 6th movie is the most complete and probably most personal and confessional work. The pure imagination and all the ideas executed and transferred to the screen are nothing less than spectacular.Finally, like a viewer you don't need to like westerns, the movie is about courage, friendship, and very original humor. ALEX DE LA IGLESIA born 1965 in Bilbao is one of the leading Spanish directors present. Besides his recognizable style and brave projects DE LA IGLESIA has tested himself almost in every single movie genre. The only short which he directed "Mirindas Assesinas" was loved by Almodovar brothers which leaded to their collaboration on a hilarious mixture of science-fiction-parody "Action Mutante" (1992). After that a Spanish box office hit followed "El dia de la bestia" (1995), after which he picked up an abandoned project of Bigas Luna "Perdita Durango" (1997) which introduced to the world a great duet in-between Rosie Perez and Javier Bardem. After this he directed "Muertos de risa" (1999), and "La Comunidad" (2000) which was just recently distributed in UK. His sixth feature "800 Ballas" was nominated for 7 Goya's (Spanish Oscars) and features Alex de la Iglesia first time as a producer.Andreja Kmetovic.

I liked 800 Balas despite the sentimental pap; I think it proves that Iglesias has the heart and balls to make it big in Hollywood if he wants to. He has this ability to be so entertaining, accessible and deeply felt at the same time.There were plenty of funny moments, romanticism (which tends to be simplistic and predictable at times) morality, "good and bad" characters,action, bright colors and suspense to give Steven Soderbergh a run for his money. At the same time, we get a healthy dose of ambiguous darkness, rich irony, black humor and ludicrous moments that tread the thin line between hysteria and nostalgia, morbidity and delight.There are layers of amorphous innocence and celebration of sensuality in that scene where the kid, lying on the bed with the whore, learns a thing or two about female anatomy aided by a physical demonstration of squeezing her boobs. (For an odd, whimsical and yet strangely dark kid-confronted-with-ripe-overwhelming-sexuality scene, check out THE TIN DRUM where the protagonist buries his face on their house help's "bush".)That scene where the kid tries to enter the abandoned film set to reach his granddad and somehow evades the notice of EVERYONE AROUND HIM, steeped in chaos, fright, awe and exhilaration as they all were - -- that is just tautly controlled and beautifully executed. The colors are so vivid and ethereal and it's great seeing around two hundred of these film extras acting their hearts out for their 3 seconds of fame, to be grazed by the camera's tracking shot.Like the mythical, legendary granddad aiming for authenticity and grandeur, Iglesias strives for plenty of big moments.But I guess that in the end, all the "hero" ever really wanted was to be loved; and if we can't admire this movie for its glorification of machismo-addled brotherhood and glaring, obvious contrasts and metaphors, we may just love its shameless and profound respect for history, psychological and blood ties, dreams, life, and humanity.

To keep it simple, this film is just good fun to watch, especially if your a fan of the old spaghetti westerns.Lots of laughs to be found (many revolving around a 12 year old being corrupted by the old men & their big drinking, whore loving lifestyle).After dragging slightly in the middle of the film, 800 Bullets, picks up the pace for a great final 30-odd minutes, where it's all action.Interesting that an "Original Music" credit has been given to Roque Banos, considering that all that was done was to remix Ennio Morricone's classic spaghetti western themes.I highly recommend this film to anyone, especially in the mood for a fun, rollicking film. 8/10