Educational Media Reviews Online

In ancient civilizations the bull was worshiped as a god, the symbol of both the sun and the moon. Bare-chested maidens vaulted over bulls in strange religious rituals in Minoan Crete, and gladiators fought savage bulls in mortal combat in the Roman Coliseum. Despite this long complicated history, Spanish bullfighting has always seemed a barbaric anachronism to many North Americans, who find it difficult to understand the blood and cruelty of the sport.

This honest, extraordinary film unflinchingly examines the difficult life of an unusual bullfighter, Cristina Sanchez. Sunshadow juxtaposes scenes of Cristina practicing bullfighting (the killing sword thrust), with scenes of normal domestic interaction, along with her actual bullfighting sequences. According to Cristina Sanchez, the excitement of bullfighting is derived from the presence of death. Besides living with constant danger, Cristina leads a lonely life-- "when I started bull fighting I lost my friends." In a thoroughly male-dominated field, "it's just men's talk and men's thoughts that count." "Just talking about bulls can be difficult for a women,"says Cristina. Her secret desire, besides having a home and family, is to be lifted in triumph over the heads of the crowds at Madrid's famous Las Ventas Arena in Madrid.

Sunshadow uses fast-paced kinetic editing and appropriate dramatic music in the fight sequences. Different camera angles and slow motion photography give the film needed variety. In one dramatic sequence, the camera acts as the bull charging Cristina in a mock bullfight in the Madrid Arena. Overall, there is a real sense of inevitability to the climax of this film-- Cristina Sanchez fighting at the Las Ventas Arena in Madrid.

The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Pronunciation of the Spanish is easy to understand, and the audio track is crystal clear. My only criticism is that the early subtitles were irritatingly squeezed into the left hand corner of the screen.

There is absolutely no attempt to beautify or sentimentalize bullfighting. Scenes of bulls being stabbed by the matador, one after another, are shown in quick succession. Blood and gore (picadors stabbing the bull in the back, horses being gored etc.) are part of nearly every important bullfighting sequence. The bull is even shown slaughtered after the final Madrid Bullfight.

Make no mistake about it-- this is an important film. The film won the Best Swedish Short Film in 1996. Directed by Susanna Edwards, it is probably the best film I've seen on bullfighting. It can be used in Spanish language and culture classes without reservation. Perhaps, it could be used in Women's Studies as well. The violence and gore are probably not appropriate for classes below the high school level. I enthusiastically recommend this wonderful film.