Εl Club is the absolute example of what honest yet brutal cinema is. It's not only due to its theme, but also its way of presenting it to the audience in a shocking and quite graphic way. Pablo Larraín, the director, is no stranger to honest film-making. He is the director of the Academy Award Nominee No (2012), after all. And with this film, he manages to create a suspenful atmoshere that keeps you at the edge of your seat without actually anything spectacular happening.
In El Club, we travel to a small Chilean beach town where one of the most entertaining activities, is dog racing. Then, we meet our protagonists, four men (Alfredo Castro, Alejandro Goic, Alejandro Sieveking and Jaime Vadell) and a woman who live all together in a small house. We soon find out that the four men have been priests in the past and they have been sent to this remote place in clandestine retirement. The woman (Antonia Zegers) who takes care of them is also a nun and is in a similar "retired" state.
Before we even start assuming the reasons behind their retirement, their peaceful life that consists of praying, eating, watching TV and sending their dog to participate in the local races, is interrupted by a new guest in the house: another "retired" priest, Father Lazcano (José Soza). As soon as the newest member of the "club" arrives, another man arrives too (Roberto Farías). This one however is not a priest. He is just a fisherman who has noticed the new arrival and comes outside the house shouting about his experiences with Father Lazcano and sharing all the disturbing details of the sexual abuses that he received when he was just a little altar boy.
One thing quickly leads to another and as a crisis counselor (Marcelo Alonso) is sent by the Vatican to the house in order to investigate how things work and decide whether the small retirement club shall remain active, more details come to light. We quickly understand that every single one of these "men of God" has committed scandalous crimes that have embarrassed the Church.
El Club is a dark disconcerting film that feels like a punch in the stomach. While it shows nothing brutal, the descriptions of horrendous acts are really hard to watch or listen to. It is obvious that Pablo Larraín criticizes the crimes that have been committed and then hushed up by the Vatican and he seems quite hostile to the whole institution.
If it were for a different evolution of the plot, the film would be near-perfect but nonetheless even as things are, we get the idea that even an institution such as the Church that thinks highly of itself will resort to extreme measures to protect itself from any outside threats. Whether that's fair or not, is left on our judgement.
El Club is an original film that touches an otherwise not easily approachable subject. The cringe-worthy details are no reason for someone to avoid this important film which is also excellently acted as the cast is so perfect in each role that at times I caught myself forgetting that they're just actors who are doing their job. This will stay with me for a long time.
El Club was shown on the 9th day of the AIFF, Saturday October 3rd.
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