The Cornerhouse’s Viva festival kicked off with Quién Mató a Bambi? – a Spanish crisis comedy directed by Santi Amodeo. Quim Gutiérrez and Julián Villagrán star as hapless office workers David and Mudo, who unexpectedly find themselves saddled with the unconscious body of their boss, the distinguished Mr Larrera. Meanwhile, pizzeria owners Gigi and Edu hatch a plan to ransom Larrera in order to dig their failing restaurant out of debt. Unbeknownst to them, the man they’ve managed to capture is not their intended target. A series of unfortunate coincidences and misunderstandings draw all their stories steadily together as they eventually find out the answer to the question: Who Killed Bambi?

Quién Mató a Bambi? is not a story of good versus evil.

Though the film has its roots in the Mexican thriller Matando Cabos, Amodeo’s remake weaves comical interludes into a story riddled with darker elements. Kidnappings, stabbings and the odd bit of mutilation are interspersed with moments of fantastic physical comedy, at which Gutiérrez is especially adept. His thin frame, dark suit and constant panicked twitches combine to give one the impression of a nervous insect, and the barrage of grim situations his character faces gives him plenty of opportunity to showcase his comic talent.

In a way, Quién Mató a Bambi? portrays two separate universes. One is defined by a mundane but cheerful normality in which people go to work in artful glass buildings, play golf quietly on sunlit lawns and gush over each other at parties. Vibrant shades flash and glitter from office facades and party decorations alike, emphasising the blithe oblivion of the peripheral characters. This is juxtaposed against a maelstrom of misfortune and misunderstandings, a nightmare for those caught within its grasp, but one which denies them the power to pass off their bad luck to others.

Against such a cheery backdrop, the violence is visceral and shocking, and the sound design is especially effective. The dull thwack of a baseball bat or the clanging thud of a lampshade elicit both gasps and laughter from the audience, with one or two visibly jumping in their seats on occasion. Despite this, Amodeo has been careful to ensure that there are no straightforward villains. Quién Mató a Bambi? is not a story of good versus evil. Each of the characters are simply desperate people driven to do desperate things, actively fighting against the hand that life dealt them. It’s easy to pick out the moral failings in their actions, but it’s just as easy to see what led them to those actions in the first place.

… successfully breaking the law can actually be quite difficult …

Another source of empathy is in the humour, as the would-be villains show devastating levels of incompetence. It is clear from the beginning – perhaps from the premise – that we are not watching master criminals at work. The stereotype of the cold criminal mastermind has been around for decades, and it’s easy for modern audiences to forget that successfully breaking the law can actually be quite difficult. The characters of Quién Mató a Bambi? are only too willing to remind us of that fact as they bungle ransom calls, openly antagonise the public around them and lose their own getaway cars. Throughout it all, characters chatter at each other in frantic and furious streams of Spanish, the language’s own beautifully scrolling rhythm lending the film a further sense of urgency. It’s true that poor luck accounts for many of the unfortunate occurrences in the film, but the final results are habitually exacerbated by the characters wildly trying to resolve them. None are exempt from the fateful machinations which dictate their misfortune, and in the end it’s up to the audience to decide who they feel most sorry for.

As the parallel plotlines converge and diverge with increasing frequency, the coincidences and farces quickly become more and more unlikely; but the film’s lightly surreal atmosphere serves it well. Amodeo toys with the ludicrous but stops short of being outright slapstick; you don’t have to look particularly closely at the car chases, clever dialogue and general hysteria to tell that he had fun making this film. The plot threads unravel slightly right at the very end, and a few of the final scenes seem somewhat contrived, but it’s not enough of a fault to undermine an otherwise solid comedy.

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