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The Red squirrel is a stylish thriller about stolen identity set in modern day Spain. Jota is a former rock musician contemplating suicide when he witnesses a motorcycle accident. Rushing to assist the victim, Jota discovers that Lisa has amnesia and in a ruse to stay close to her, he convinces Lisa that she is his fiancee. Complications ensue when the couple visit a campground named The Red Squirrel and Lisa’s memory starts to return, as does her ex-husband. At the campground Lisa and Jota encounter a myriad of characters, who compound the sense of deception and duplicity that pervades the film. Directed with humour and flair by Julio Medem, “The Red squirrel” has much in common with Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” in that is explores the territory of a man shaping his ideal woman out of a person he (wrongly) perceives to be an empty vessel. At times “The Red squirrel” mocks the idea of machismo; in particular Jota’s rock star posturing and the chauvinistic overtures of an obnoxious male neighbour at the camp. The game within the game is what drives the narrative and keeps the audience guessing as to who is telling, or even knows, the truth. In Spanish with English subtitles.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
315673
Language
Spanish
Audience classification
R (18+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers
Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Thrillers
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Machismo
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Relationships
Feature films → Feature films - Spain
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Amnesia
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Identity (Psychology)
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Machismo
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)