Sombra dolorosa (2004)

Director:

Guy Maddin

Writer:

Guy Maddin

Stars:

Talia Pura, CindyMarie Small, Johnny A. Wright

Cast

Credited cast:
Talia Pura	...	Mother
CindyMarie Small	...	Dolores
Johnny A. Wright	...	Mexican samaritan

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

singing | birth | sun | underwater | dancing | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

29 December 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Sorrowful Shadow

Filming Locations:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

IFC Productions, Manitoba Film & Sound, Bravo!FACT

Technical Specs

Runtime:

4 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This short film is featured on the DVD for The Saddest Music in the World.

User Reviews

"The widow must defeat El Muerto!"

SOMBRA DOLOROSA is probably the best Guy Maddin short I've seen yet! Filmed in vivid color and edited in Maddin's rapid-fire collage style, it follows the story of a Mexican widow who must defeat El Muerto (think El Santo as the Grim Reaper) in a boxing ring in order to save her husband from death. When she fails, El Meurto must eat "The Meal of the Dead" before the solar eclipse so that her husband's soul may be released from his belly.

The short is extremely funny and a little bit unnerving. It shares the "dead father" motif, intertitles, and artificial atmosphere of many of Guy Maddin's works, but the colorful Mexican backdrop puts it into a class of its own.

Definitely check out SOMBRA DOLOROSA!