3 Sound and skin in the quinqui films of Eloy de la Iglesia
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Tom Whittaker
Abstract
This chapter centres on Navajeros/Knifers (1980), El pico/Overdose (1983) and El pico 2/Overdose 2 (1984), three quinqui films that the director Eloy de la Iglesia made with the actor José Luis Manzano. It explores how the soundtrack of the films contributed towards an aesthetics of shock and sensation, which in turn established a particularly visceral and intersubjective relationship with the audience. A key site of resonance in the films is the fragile body of the delinquent, which is visually and aurally emphasised through the texture of Manzano’s skin and the sound of his breath, particularly during moments of drug taking. The chapter explores how the relationship between skin and sound was crucial to the affective charge of de la Iglesia’s filmmaking. Through an analysis of haptic sound, in particular, the chapter traces the ways in which the film responded to public debates surrounding heroin abuse, whose distribution networks found themselves imbricated in the underlying social and political tensions within the Basque Country during this period.
Abstract
This chapter centres on Navajeros/Knifers (1980), El pico/Overdose (1983) and El pico 2/Overdose 2 (1984), three quinqui films that the director Eloy de la Iglesia made with the actor José Luis Manzano. It explores how the soundtrack of the films contributed towards an aesthetics of shock and sensation, which in turn established a particularly visceral and intersubjective relationship with the audience. A key site of resonance in the films is the fragile body of the delinquent, which is visually and aurally emphasised through the texture of Manzano’s skin and the sound of his breath, particularly during moments of drug taking. The chapter explores how the relationship between skin and sound was crucial to the affective charge of de la Iglesia’s filmmaking. Through an analysis of haptic sound, in particular, the chapter traces the ways in which the film responded to public debates surrounding heroin abuse, whose distribution networks found themselves imbricated in the underlying social and political tensions within the Basque Country during this period.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
- 1 Unruly speed and sensation in the Perros callejeros cycle 26
- 2 Soundscapes of anxiety 67
- 3 Sound and skin in the quinqui films of Eloy de la Iglesia 103
- 4 Listening to the delinquent voice 139
- 5 The place of the rumba in cine quinqui 174
- Conclusion 208
- References 211
- Index 226
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
- 1 Unruly speed and sensation in the Perros callejeros cycle 26
- 2 Soundscapes of anxiety 67
- 3 Sound and skin in the quinqui films of Eloy de la Iglesia 103
- 4 Listening to the delinquent voice 139
- 5 The place of the rumba in cine quinqui 174
- Conclusion 208
- References 211
- Index 226
