Sand and Blood

French director Jeanne Labrune's first feature film is a knockout examination of a strange friendship. Manuel (Sami Frey) is a cultivated doctor who helps a hurt bullfighter named Francisco (Patrick Catalifo) one night when he drunkenly falls out of a car wounding his leg. Francisco invites Manuel to see him fight the bulls, and although Manuel is sickened by violence (his father was also shot by Franco's troops in a Spanish bullring filled with political prisoners), he attends the fight--and throws up. As the film progresses, Francisco comes to admire the quiet doctor's lifestyle, with his devotion to healing and love of music, and he begins to question his own role as a bullfighter. In the end both men go to Spain: Francisco to fight, Manuel to confront his childhood fears by visiting his homeland. The trip will irrevocably change the lives of both. Sand and Blood is a powerful film that is not for the weak of stomach (the bullfighting scenes are both real and sickening--but important to the film). Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)