Marco Fettolini | Lucky Fares / 2014

holy animals

by Douglas Messerli

 

Marco Fettolini and Alain Kortazar (screenplay), Marco Fettolini (director) Lucky Fares / 2014 [12 minutes]

 

Spanish director Maco Fettolini’s 12-minute short, Lucky Fares, might almost be described as a gay surrealist work, particularly since it begins with one of three wise men, Balthazar (Jose Ramón Gómez Friha) stopped by the police with Santa Claus (Luís Deogracia Meíja), two boys, 18 and 21, who thought by dressing up as Christmas saints they might escape the border guards in migrating into a new country. Caspar has already been arrested having gone for beer when Balthazar mentioned myrrh. Santa Claus was to have been the third wise man, but they couldn’t find the right costume.

     Balthazar attempts to quiet down the scared Santa—the youngest of their group—but even that doesn’t work when he suggests the police will “fuck around” with them during the interview, Santa taking it quite literally, presuming they might in fact rape him.

      Balthazar proudly hints that he’s been through the process a bunch of times, with Santa responding that it means he has failed just as many times.

       Finally, the elder attempts to wise young Santa up, explaining that he should never give out his name; that way they won’t be able to trace him to his home and might let him go. And if they are let free, perhaps they can marry a woman and gain legal citizenship.

       Santa is not sure he wants a woman, maybe an older one. Balthazar wisely suggests he might marry a man, but that choice is dangerous as well because often they just want to fuck young boys and might not come through with the marriage part. This time, he explains, he really means that they’ll fuck him.

      In any case, you have to prove you love the man or woman by kissing them in front of the authorities. It turns out, however, that Santa has had no real experience, having never kissed a woman or a man before.

       Balthazar suggests they practice, and before Santa has even had a chance to think about it, the two are in a heavy kissing session in their cell, Santa seemingly overwhelmed the discovery of the pleasure of a male kiss.

       Taking off his turban, Balthazar finally reveals his true name, Fares, Santa admitting to the name of Lucky. Perhaps, in fact, they might be “Lucky Fares,” a team who together can make their way to a new life.

       To calm the younger man, Balthazar suggests they’ll probably let them both go and then they can marry one another and travel the world together.

        But all such dreams come to end, when Balthazar is taken away. A few moments later we see Santa undergoing interrogation. Asked for his name, Santa refuses, the policeman truly fucking with his mind: “They told you how it works, right? Since you’re underage, if we can’t find your parents we can’t do anything and you don’t give a damn. If you want, we can give you problems. You oughta know that your friends are already on their way home, oh yeah. Your little friend too. Do you know what they do to fags in his home country?”

        The film ends with a desperate shout, the boy Santa spitting out the words: “I will kill you.”

        A sentence appears upon the screen: “The human being, deprived of a future, becomes an animal.”

 

Los Angeles, November 14, 2023

Reprinted from World Cinema Review (November 2023).