Mandrill (2009)

[HAZ]

Hi folks, here is part of my Fantasia report of day 1 of the festival, and a review of the film "Mandrill"!

The first day of Fantasia rolled out with more glitz & glamor than I've seen at past premiers - Montreal actor Jay Baruchel was in the house for opening night, promoting his new film "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", from Disney Pictures. The red carpet was rolled out for him! Staying true to the principals of Kung Fu Cinema, though, I passed on that for another Fantasia film being shown at the theater across the street, Mandrill, and I'm glad I did! Mandrill blew me away. If Chile-sploitation isn’t a genre, it should be!

Mandrill is a 2009 Chilean film written & directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, and stars Marko Zaror as the film's titular character, the unflappable assassin "Mandrill". Both may be familiar to fans for their work on Mirageman (2007), and Kiltro (2006), which have been previously reviewed on Kungfucinema.com

In essence, Mandrill is a tale of revenge - A young man sees his parents gunned down in cold blood, and, throughout his youth, trains himself to be an unstoppable killer. The essence of the film's plot is very serious, but Mandrill is absolutely hilarious. Mandrill the assassin gains his inspiration from the films of “John Colt“, the hero of a fake film franchise, a pastiche character of James Bond, the Man with No Name, with a touch of Black Belt Jones thrown in for good measure. If the Colt series were indeed real, they’d be among my favorite films! Colt, along with Mandrill's uncle Chone, help mold the film’s hero, who is obsessed with avenging his parents' murder.

Mandrill takes several cues from Colt, the shiny three-piece suits, sunglasses, and fisticuffs, are all influenced by his movie idol. The art of seduction, though, is taught to him by his suave uncle. One great scene has uncle teaching nephew about the feminine mind. His ideas are chauvinistic, and anachronistic, but completely hilarious; In an effort to show Mandrill how to win with the ladies, he slips on a hidden microphone, and sits down next to a woman at a bar. The mic goes dead, so neither Mandrill or the audience can hear what’s said, but the Uncle walks out of the bar with the woman in less than a minute, to Mandrill’s confusion and the audience’s amusement. It’s these lessons that Mandrill uses to create his persona. Several years pass, and the now adult Mandrill is given a contracted to kill the man he suspects is behind his parents’ murder. In his journey for revenge, the lessons learnt from Colt and uncle Chone both serve him well. Mandrill fights off countless henchmen, and must seduce a woman linked to his parents’ killer, a man known only as “Cyclops”.

One thing that I loved about Mandrill is that it seems to be set in contemporary times, but there are times you just don’t know where the “when” of the film is supposed to be. For instance, I’m not sure who’s still rocking a tape deck in their car in 2010. The music is phenomenal, shaping the atmosphere of the film, and giving breadth to world of Mandrill. The film also looks great, despite an undoubtedly tight budget.

I would be hesitant to call Mandrill a parody of 70’s and 80’s exploitation cinema. It’s filled with tongue-in-cheek moments, but it’s a clever film, and you can feel the appreciation that the director has of the films he‘s referencing. Mandrill dispatches his foes in pretty inventive ways - there’s a scene involving a cigarette lighter that is classic - and he delivers some pretty cheesy lines with a straight face that left the audience rolling, but the film never feels like a straight send-up. Austin Powers this is not. Mandrill is a homage as much as it is a parody. A high point of Mandrill was the clips of the films of John Colt - I wish those movies were real! The posters that adorn the walls of the young Mandrill's room look like they're for films that would be your favorite movie, if it wasn’t all a fabrication.

The talent that is Marko Zaror cannot be overlooked in this film. He’s a capable actor - In the wrong hands, Mandrill could come off a completely unsympathetic, but Zaror give the character some emotional depth, not a ton, but enough to make you like him. That, coupled with a good sense of timing and an amazing poker face, brings the character of Mandrill to life for the audience. Zaror is also a capable screen fighter, but don’t come to this expecting Yuen Wo ping. It’s a basher. While Zaror is an able fighter, his opponents sometimes don’t share the same abilities. The fights are well-shot on the whole - I wouldn’t have minded a bit less slo-mo, and a little less editing. I’m being a bit picky, though. Please consider that I saw Mandrill and Ip Man 2 in the same evening! Sammo Hung is a tough act to follow.

I’ve read that Mandrill won best picture awards at the 2009 Fantastic Fest, and best actor for Marko Zaror. Mandrill is certainly a movie worthy of that praise, and definitely worthy of your time. I’m surprised that it doesn’t have more press. I hope that the works of director Espinoza and actor Zaror get more exposure on the festival circuit. Mandrill is a must-see for fans of genre cinema - Check it out!

Mandrill is showing at Montreal’s Fantasia on July 10 at 1:00 pm at the J.A DeSeve theater, 1400 de Maisonneuve West.

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[Guest LoBo]

Yes,good review. I am just waiting for Mandrill to be released on dvd. I hope it happens soon.

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Vapir No2

[KUNG FU BOB]

So far Ernesto Diaz Espinoza and Marko Zaror have collaborated on all of their films, and to me, they're to action cinema what Scorsese and DeNiro were to dramatic films! They should be considered in a tight race for best action film team along with teams Issac Florentine and Scott Adtkins, and and Donnie Yen!

For those of you that haven't seen KILTRO and MIRAGEMAN yet, check them out! They've got a very unique sense of humor, and Marko is a freaking super talented star! In fact, he teamed up with Florentine and Adtkins and rocked UNDISPUTED 3- which is a "must see".

Cool write up Haz. Can't wait to see MANDRILL!

[The Amazing Psycho Per]

Nice review. Pretty much sums up what I think too. As far as I'm concern Zaror/Espinoza are 3 in 3.

For the Slow-mo, to me the problem was not the quantity but the way it was used. I don't mind seeing some accrobaticaly complicated move in slow motion to fully appreciate it, but in a fight in particular, in the parking lot, it was used very randomly and uneffectively.

But I agree with you with the lack of press. Theyre movies are not getting the attention they deserve and I don't understand why. I remember, for the world premiere of Mirageman at Fantasia we were like 20-30 people in the attendance. And why didn't Mandrill play in the Hall theater at Fantasia? It's weird how little attention these movies recieve. Some people wouldn't know a good movie if it hit them in the head.

[gorhama]

Oh man I've been waiting for this movie for a while and to her how much fun it is....I'm even more excited!!