This wilfully idiosyncratic take on Don Quixote is a pared back, wry escapade in which the famous elderly gent and his sidekick stumble around a beautiful Catalan countryside rustling with life.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
Honour of the Knights 2006
Honor de cavallería
At turns wry and melancholy, this wilfully idiosyncratic take on Don Quixote is a pared back, absurdist escapade in which the famous elderly gent and his stout, docile sidekick, like a pair out of a Beckett play, stumble around a rustling countryside doused in light and night. Albert Serra's beautiful first film, shot in natural light and with directly-recorded sound, celebrates the senses and is alert to simple joys such as contemplating the cloud-scudded Catalan skies, listening to the wind caressing tall grasses, bathing in a river, sleeping beneath the stars, or simply eating a nut. Their search for adventure appears to lead Don Quixote and his mute and loyal squire in circles; perhaps the true quest is their deepening friendship, their floating adrift together in a world where words and major action are rare and ultimately unnecessary. If you're seeking straightforward narrative or toppled knights, you won't find them here; instead, a serene vision of two men in landscape in a comic and vaguely bewildered state of grace.