From its unexpected opening scene, it’s clear that Flamenco Sketches is every bit as challenging as flamenco itself. Freely associative, the film expands into a wide-ranging exploration of the ways this Spanish dance and music form is connected to historical and artistic developments.
The narrators not only recount the history of flamenco, but also alternate between wonder and speculation. They draw inspiration from a wealth of archival material full of intriguing details, from one of Edison’s earliest Kinetoscope films, featuring the dancer Carmencita, to an ironic clip of Hillary Clinton.
Flamenco’s connection to modernity, machinery, and avant-garde art is highlighted. Arp, Miró, Chaplin, Saura and Dalí all make an appearance. The exploration ranges from eroticism and censorship to the politics of the Spanish Civil War and colonialism, without losing sight of flamenco’s emotion and melancholy. Flamenco portrayed as a living presence through time.
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