Arcángel

Javier Codesal
Replay preview

Seeking to this position prevented in preview mode



In the XIIth Century Ben Quzmán wrote a poem which praised the beauty of some Córdoba youths. In this video Codesal brings the poem into the present and goes in search of those beautiful young males in today’s Córdoba.

Arcángel introduces us to Quzmán’s texts. Two friends sitting in a café’s terrace are trying to translate the poem. In the voice over Codesal himself speaks about his intention to reinterpret the poem. His search after the beauty of Córdoba’s youths will result in a multiple and poetic portrait. Different young males appear in front of the camera and show us their everyday selves, without the need to explain.

In this interesting piece, which goes well beyond conventional film narrative techniques, Codesal turns video into poetry, putting images together and presenting situations that don’t need a causal logic. The youths approach the camera with total ease and naturalness. Silences and strolls fill the screen with emotivity.

The beautiful boys of Córdoba are very different from each other: a kid who chases pigeons in the park, a shell collector, a baby, a boy who works in a chicken farm, and the members of the popular band Banda de Cornetas y Tambores Nuestra Señora de la Fuensanta, who also featured in Pieza Musical, a previous video piece by Codesal, which, as is the case with Lectura de manos, is partially included in Arcángel.

This video offers the spectator the possibility of getting closer - from a certain poetic distance and approaching the meaning of beauty in a complex manner - to a series of individuals with very different characteristics. After watching the different portraits we encounter the taste and the gaze of Codesal himself.

Technical datasheet

  • Title: Arcángel
  • Direction: Javier Codesal
  • Production: Javier Codesal. 2002.
  • Duration: 01:24:20
  • Languages: Spanish
  • Original format: Quicktime
  • Formats: Betacam Digital - DVD
  • TV systems: PAL
  • License: Copyright