A film with a logic, beauty and humour all of its own. Two ghosts – recognisable by their white robes with holes for the eyes – leave the Sonar Music Festival and set off for Finisterre, at the end of Jacob’s Way. And an ode to Philippe Garrel’s The Inner Scar, which was shown at the very first Rotterdam Festival.
Sergio Caballero is co-director of the famous SONAR Festival in Barcelona for ‘Advanced Music and Multimedia Art’, where he is responsible for the visual side. His first full-length film also emerged from that side. Only later was the scenario created.
In the visuals, shot by cameraman Eduard Grau – who again performed miracles, just as in Honor de cavalleria (Albert Serra) and A Single Man (Tom Ford) – we see two ghosts seeking their way in a variety of spectacular landscapes, lost and roaming along the pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostela and then on to Finisterre, at the end of the world. The ghosts wear the familiar white robes (which slowly get dirtier) with eyeholes cut out, and together they have one horse. From the Russian dialogues we can conclude that they recently died and have to get used to their new status. On the way, they find themselves in surrealistic situations.
A major source of inspiration for Finisterrae is Philippe Garrel’s classic The Inner Scar (1972). The oracle that leads the ghosts bears the name of Garrel. And on the hypnotic soundtrack you can hear Suicide but also Garrel’s muze, the singer Nico. The fact that this road movie with its haughty tones and subject is so amusing is partly thanks to the maker’s captivating, unique sense of humour. –Rotterdam
