Film: The Ugliest Woman In The World
Release date: 26th September 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Miguel Bardem
Starring: Elia Galera, Roberto Álvarez, Javivi, Héctor Alterio, Alberto San Juan
Genre: Comedy/Crime/Sci-Fi
Studio: Nucleus
Format: DVD
Country: Spain
The Ugliest Woman In The World slipped under the radar on its release in 1999. Unlike other genre films that have found an audience in the West, such as Let The Right One In or The Brotherhood Of The Wolf, The Ugliest Woman In The World failed to grab any attention. With its blend of Gilliam-esque whimsy and Cronenberg body horror, the film deserves more attention than it received.
Set in 2011, twelve years in the future at the time of release, the film follows Lt. Arribas as he investigates the brutal murder of an elderly woman on New Year’s Eve. Helping him with his investigation is Paleyo, a tormented detective who has fallen for a woman who used to be a man, and his team of detectives, each one more shallow than the next.
The trail leads them to Lola Otero, once a darling of the Spanish media due to her relationship with a high profile male celebrity. She disappeared soon after the death of her lover. As Lt. Arribas looks into the case in more detail, he discovers a history of abuse and torment directed at Lola. All a result of her being the ugliest baby ever born. Developing sympathy for the woman, Lt. Arribas and his team must stop Lola before she takes her revenge at the Miss Spain beauty pageant…
The Ugliest Woman In The World shares a lot with The Brotherhood Of The Wolf. Both combine genres in a unique and fresh way with varying levels of success. Shifting between science fiction, black comedy, tragic drama and body horror, the film is sometimes uneven but always enjoyable.
The film focuses on Lt. Arribas and Lola Otero. Lt. Arribas, portrayed with efficiency by veteran Spanish actor Roberto Alvarez, is an extremely sad and mournful character. The scenes where he returns to his lonely apartment and removes the various body parts hiding his physical deformities are especially effective at showing the character’s mental state. The way in which he sighs with disdain at his colleagues’ attitudes and behaviours distances this character from the standard American stereotype of the homicide detective.
Opposite Lt. Arribas is Lola Otero, the titular ‘ugliest woman in the world’. The film goes into much more detail about the traumas and abuse she suffered as a child. Although we do feel some sympathy for her, the performance of Elia Galera as the adult Lola comes across as much colder and slightly nullifies the effectiveness of the flashbacks to the abuse she suffered.
Special mention must go to Paleyo and the other homicide detectives who provide most of the comedy and relief throughout the film. The scene where they discuss the intricacies of scoring the attractiveness of the women in the beauty pageant is especially funny, as is the use of the more rotund detective as a battering ram.
The aesthetics of the film are similar to Terry Gilliam’s more subtle films. The future is portrayed as being not too dissimilar to the present, just with slight alterations. A neat visual gag at the start of the film shows a futuristic space station only to reveal it as a film playing on television. The science fiction elements are subtle and realistic. The central conceit of the injection that transforms Lola into a beautiful woman is shown sparingly, making the reveal at the end of the film much more shocking. When Lola reverts to her natural state in the final act is a triumph of grotesque CGI and make up effects. The title of the film is in no way misleading.
Tonally, the film’s changes can be sometimes off putting. As with the recent popular films from South Korean cinema, The Ugliest Woman In The World is happy to move from one tone to another within the space of a transition. This is particularly jarring after a traumatic flashback of Lola being abused as a teenage girl is immediately followed by a comedic scene of Paleyo being teased about his new relationship. The film is also very critical of the superficial nature of society and celebrity, not showing any nuance in how the beautiful people are universally ugly on the inside. With more subtlety, the film could have had a message that seemed less black-and-white. The final act of the film is also a bit of an anti-climax, as Lola’s plot to attack the beauty pageant seems to lack the logic or efficiency of her previous crimes.
The Ugliest Woman In The World is an extremely enjoyable film. Although uneven tonally in places, and with a message that lacks subtlety, the film provides a fresh take on the serial killer genre. The way it combines genres so effortlessly gives the film freshness in its style and approach. Released at the height of the Seven copycats in American cinema, The Ugliest Woman In The World would have been a welcome reprieve from the oppressively grim and ugly serial killer films released around the same time. JDW
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