FATA MORGANA (1965)

A man rehearses a lecture he is planning to give, analyzing serial killers. He claims that a woman is soon to be murdered in the city. It is inevitable, he explains, as some people are born victims while others are born to kill. He plans to identify the future victim through a series of photographs of violent acts.

Fashion model Gim, played by iconic Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera, finds herself alone in a Barcelona that seems almost deserted. She seeks out her lover, Alvaro, for help. On her way to meet him she is harassed by a series of men and followed by a huge and menacing silver truck with blacked out windows. Through a loud speaker on the truck a mechanical voice orders all persons to leave the city immediately.
Gim finds that Alvaro’s former girlfriend, Miriam, is staying in his house having just returned from London where a terrible but unexplained event occurred. In Alvaro’s “art chamber”, an obviously disturbed Miriam finds a large knife disguised as a metallic silver fish.

Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys cut out a picture of Gim from a huge advertising billboard. They carry it through the empty city streets in a silent procession.

Directed in 1965 by Vicente Aranda, FATA MORGANA is a hallucinogenic mixture of chase thriller, science fiction, art film and comic-book inspired puzzle. Filled with garishly colored visuals and with a hypnotic jazzy soundtrack, the film is a unique and highly entertaining first feature from one of world cinema’s most renowned creators.