An early version of one of those “how do all these pieces fit together” stories, Strange Voyage (1964) sustains the mystery for such a long time that you believe maybe they won’t ever fit together. The film also does it so masterfully that by the end, you forget that you didn’t know how they fit together.
The movie opens in a small Spanish village at the local dance hall, the obvious weekly highlight for residents of all ages leading what are probably mundane lives. We meet a young couple, Beatriz Lopez (Lina Canlejas) and Fernando (Carlos Larranaga), as well as the black sheep of the town, spicy dancer, Angelines (Sara Lezana.)
But then we meet adult siblings Paquita Vidal (Rafaela Aparicio) and Venancio Vidal (Jesus Franco, yes, that one) as they’re awakened by noises in the house and are reluctant to wake their elder sister, Ignacia Vidal (Tota Alba.) We learn why they’d be reluctant. Ignacia is a cruel head of household who berates her brother and sister.
Back and forth we go, with the mundane activities of Beatriz, Fernando, and Angelines, and the sometimes hilarious chain of events that occurs within the big house at the center of town where the Vidals live. Yes, I said hilarious. The characters in the screenplay by Pedro Beltran and directed by Fernando Fernan Gomez are unforgettably funny.
Granted, Strange Voyage is not exactly a horror film, but it’s a rare feat for me to enjoy much comedy at all in a thriller of any kind. It’s not slapstick humor but is engrained in the characters and demonstrated through their actions and the resulting events. I’d call it, “organic.” It’s not forced and comes naturally.
There’s a third subplot eventually woven into both parts. Somebody has stolen a corset from Dona Teresa’s (Maria Luisa Ponte) shop. It’s her sole purpose throughout the story to find who did it and make sure they’re punished for it. I found her sheer determination and focus to also be quite humorous.
Put all this in the oven and out comes a delicious cake of murder and mayhem. The final third (or so) of the movie is a replay of events we’ve already seen but adding the parts we didn’t witness or know at the time. Those sounds Paquita and Venancio heard earlier? Yeah, they’re important.
This isn’t a unique structure for a crime story, but must be an early one, particularly for a Spanish film. Indeed, it was voted the seventh best Spanish films by professional and critics in the 1996 Spanish cinema centenary. Pedro Almodovar also lists it as one of the 13 great Spanish films that inspired his career.
I sometimes wasn’t sure if the actions and events I was witnessing were important, and I longed for the scenes with Paquita and Venancio. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Strange Voyage. It’s simply a good movie and a good start as I cracked open Severin’s Danza Macabra Volume Five box set.
Strange Voyage opened in Madrid on Sept. 15, 1969 and was released by Izaro Films. The Blu-ray is available as part of the Danza Macabra Volume Five box set from Severin Films.
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