A Darkly Comedic Portrayal of Pinochet’s Blood-Soaked Legacy
“El Conde” (Pablo Larraín) depicts former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell) as a still-living 250-year old vampire. In the film, “the count” has his real origins in France, where he became the sworn enemy of all revolutions after he deserted the army of King Louis XVI to flee the revolution of 1789. In the present day, Pinochet is finally ready to die, feeling humiliated by his country’s hatred of him, but finds himself unable to do so. What ensues is a properly gruesome dark comedy for its subject matter, at its best when it leans into the lurid behavior of its bloodthirsty main character and his vain, money-grubbing family.
