The Hunt(1966 film)

The Hunt
Spanish film poster
Directed by	Carlos Saura
Written by	Angelino Fons Carlos Saura
Produced by	Elías Querejeta
Starring	Alfredo Mayo Emilio Gutiérrez Caba
Cinematography	Luis Cuadrado
Edited by	Pablo González del Amo
Music by	Luis de Pablo
Release date	November 9, 1966(1966-11-09)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

The Hunt(in SpanishLa Caza) is a 1966Spanish filmdirected byCarlos Saura.The film is a psychological thriller about three veterans of theSpanish Civil Warwho meet to gorabbit hunting.It was Saura's first international success, winning theSilver Bear for Best Directorat the16th Berlin International Film Festival.It is considered a classic ofSpanish Cinema,andSam Peckinpahhas said that it was a major influence upon him.

Plot

José, Paco and Luis, three middle-aged men, veteranFalangists,reunite in a provincial village ofCastile,spending a hot summer's day drinking, reminiscing and hunting rabbits. José instigates the hunt. He is in debt because of an impending divorce and is living beyond his means with a younger woman. His main objective at the reunion is to secure a loan from Paco, a shrewd businessman, also unhappily in love and looking for younger women. Paco brings with him Luis, now employed at his factory. Luis is a weak, forlorn individual, an alcoholic addicted to wine, women and science fiction rather than social conviviality or male camaraderie. A fourth member of the group, Enrique, a teenage relative of Paco's, comes along for the thrill of the rabbit hunt.

Meeting at the local bar, the men proceed to a run-down farm house and hire Juan and his young niece Carmen to aid them in the hunt, as well as severalferretsto rout the rabbits from their holes. As the hunters prepare their guns, they reminisce about the Civil War and the excitement of hunting men instead of animals. After a few drinks, José asks Paco for a loan; it will cement their relationship, he says. Paco, who has grudgingly been expecting this, refuses, but instead offers José a job.

From left to right Ismael Merlo, Alfredo Mayo, José María Prada and Emilio Gutiérrez Caba in a shot of the film.

During the hunt, the men kill several rabbits and eventually lunch on them. Their relationships become more estranged as they fret over the past and rebuke each other in several ways. Luis becomes deranged and turns to practice-shooting with amannequin;he also starts a fire that grows too large and has to be put out. Near the end, Paco kills a ferret; he claims he shot it accidentally, but José feels he did it maliciously. As the hunt gains in intensity, the gunfire becomes more rapid. The smoldering hatred and frustrations of the three men are triggered when Paco is hit by a blast from José's shotgun and falls mortally wounded, into a stream. Luis, enraged by the killing, tries to kill José by running him down with aland rover.José retaliates, shooting at Luis, but the latter manages to survive long enough to shoot at the escaping José and kill him before going down himself. Enrique, unhurt, is left alone in the midst of this carnage, trying to fathom the inexplicable behavior of the three wartime comrades. The movie ends in a freeze-frame as he runs away from the carnage.

Cast

• Ismael Merloas José
• Alfredo Mayoas Paco
• José María Pradaas Luis
• Emilio Gutiérrez Cabaas Enrique (credited as Emilio G. Caba)
• Fernando Sánchez Polackas Juan
• Violeta Garcíaas Carmen
• María Sánchez Arocaas La Madre de Juan

Reception

The film was shot in a valley that once witnessed a Civil War battle similar to the one described in the dialogue. Saura won theSilver Bear for Best Directorat the16th Berlin International Film Festivalin 1966.

Notes

• D'Lugo, Marvin,The Films of Carlos Saura,Princeton University Press, 1991,ISBN0-691-03142-8
• Schwartz, Ronald,The Great Spanish Films: 1950- 1990,Scarecrow Press, London, 1991,ISBN0-8108-2488-4

External links

• La cazaatIMDb
• La caza,Carlos Saura y el nuevo cine españolSuite101(Spanish)