Fucking Down by Amanda Lago and Fatal Tiger
FUCKING DOWN – Fatal Tiger from Amanda Lago on Vimeo.
Spanish filmmaker Amanda Lago and musician Fatal Tiger illustrate in Fucking Down the range of human emotions that are dragging on a single person. The music supports the struggle by building up gradually and eventually resulting in that ecstatic moment that brings it all together. The emotions that caused the struggle are melting into one, the main character is left alone lying on the floor.
The starting point
The main character lies asleep, she wears a simple dress; different faces are introduced to the scene. There is no music yet. The faces are all represented by near-naked women of different ages. Only one of them wears a bathrobe that will be taken off later. Each of them shows a unique facial expression and corresponding ways of movement around the room.
The scene plays in a hotel room with a retro feel, yellow lighting and simple furniture. Electronic music with dreamy aspirations starts to play as the faces swap places on screen. The melody is getting stronger over time and reflects the struggle between emotions. It is accompanied by lyrics centred around two main enunciations: “Fucking down” and “save me”. It is a cry for help – help to get her own emotions under control.
The struggle of emotions
The emotions that the main character is going through are personified by different people – each with their own facial expression and movements. Some are violent and exaggerated, others restrained and controlled: Fear, happiness, passion, anger, obedience, protection, curiosity and love get each their own interpretation in a mix of contemporary, ecstatic dance styles and natural movement. Each dancer represents one specific emotion whereas the main character is pulled from one side to the other unable to settle for one of them. She lies on the bed, raises in an ecstatic way, gets pulled to different sides, pushed around, touched and lies down again. Her face reflects at each stage what she is going through. She is scared, confident, sad, happy, obedient, passionate, angry and in love. She lets the emotions take full control before she fights back. She embraces them with a kiss and watches them fight each other.
In between, the main character gets drawn out of the scene and finds herself in the same bed, but on her own. The different light makes the change of scene visible.
The merge into one
As the music reaches its peak, all emotions melt into one. Fear, happiness, passion, anger, obedience, protection, curiosity, love and the main character lie on the floor intertwined as the music abruptly stops. All emotions have melted into one. Without music, she lies on the floor, alone. The very last scene shows all the emotions standing and sitting next to each other watching the main character who seems to have found peace.
Cast:
Main character played by artist Fatal Tiger
Maria Kaltembacher represents fear
Antia Lousada represents happiness
Silvia Maya represents passion
Angeles Paez represents anger
Deni Georgieva represents obedience
Cachito Noguera represents protection
Claudia Placer represents curiosity
Alexandra Hervas represents love