CPH: DOX 2025: Afternoons of Solitude Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Copenhagen International Documentary Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey quickly grew to become one of the most prominent exponents of the modality. Roca Rey is the modern face of the touradas, a traditional sport and artistic expression in various countries but a crucial cultural element of France, Portugal, and Spain. Amidst the recent discussions about animal cruelty in bullfighting, the fighter dances with the bull and stabs it to death as a sign of victory. Afternoons of Solitude (Tardes de Soledad) sees one of the most acclaimed arthouse filmmakers of actuality, Albert Serra (Pacifiction, The Death of Louis XIV & Liberté), follow Roca Rey for three years to document his battles with the bulls in the arenas. The result is a documentary offering up an observational effort on the preparation, fighting, and aftermaths of Rey’s duels.

Setting the tone with a mesmerizing introduction, Serra frames a bull facing the camera. It is the only moment the animal stares at the lense freely, not fearing for its life. In this sense, he maintains the framing to introduce the bullfighter and his crew where they sit in a luxurious van wearing the traditional touradas’ costumes, detailed tuxedos with noble designs and gold linings. The crew talks about the other bullfighter responsible for hurting the animal, guaranteeing it is weak enough for the matador, in this case, Roca Rey. The triviality in the conversations shocks the absence of emotional compassion for the animal. It is solely the first infliction of this trait once the next battle features a bloody contest between Roca Rey and the bull.

Serra uses long takes to highlight the brutality of bullfighting. The structure of the film does not allow for the exploitation of Roca Rey on a personal level. He analyzes the before, during, and post moments of the touradas, acknowledging that every bullfighter faces the possibility of death. The impact of the horns to the chest of Rey draws blood and hurts him, delivering one of the most impactful shots, one where he cleans himself with his white costume covered with tons of blood. The director dives into the cinematic medium to explore the spectacle of the sport. Similarly, Serra blends the popular elements of the touradas, a loved sport in countries where the practice is widespread. That being sad, he also portrays the arenas as a bloodbath theater, where audiences wear their best attires and pays a grand amount of money to observe the death – either of men or bulls.

Afternoons of Solitude lacks a narrative thread throughout, yet that intentional choice made its arena scenes that much more fascinating. The artistic element of bullfighting bodes well for the film form, reminiscent of such Pedro Almodovar works as Matador and Talk to Her. Still, Serra allows audiences to question the purpose of the violence inflicted on the animals. He does not avoid the frontal element of bullfighting, including the cut of a bullhead and multiple stabs during its two hour runtime. The director intentionally delivers a feel-bad film. It features a nihilism in the activity and how the spectacle fetishizes the violence and the empowerment of the one that mercilessly kills the animal.

In the end, through Afternoons of Solitude, Serra observes the so-called new face of the touradas: Andrés Roca Rey. Instead of portraying a hero, he showcases the nihilism and violence of an extravaganza that fulfills the human need for a bloodbath. In this case, the animal does not receive the same compassion as a hurt bullfighter, directly pointing it out and implanting the horror deep in our memories.

still courtesy of CPH:DOX

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Pedro Lima

Brazilian film writer. He is also a producer and executive producer for Zariah Filmes. Member of the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA), International Documentary Association (IDA), and Gotham and Media Film Institute.