Viva la muerte

As the Spanish Civil War draws to a close, Fando, a young boy, is tormented by violently conflicting feelings towards his mother, who he suspects may have had a role in his father’s capture by fascists; feelings that manifest themselves as a nightmare onslaught of terrifying and bizarre imagery. Based on Fernando Arrabal’s own brutal experiences during the Civil War, Viva la muerte is a shockingly provocative work of surrealist cinema from the artist and filmmaker, who co-founded the ‘Panic Movement’ collective alongside Alejandro Jodorowsky. Acclaimed on release by critics and scorned by censors, Viva la muerte would later achieve notoriety as a midnight movie, and was a favourite film of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. (Radiance Films)