The Sacred Spirit

José Manuel lives in Elche, Spain, and is a member of the ufology association Ovni-Levante. The group meets weekly to exchange information about extraterrestrial messages and abductions. Their leader Julio dies suddenly, leaving José Manuel as the only person who knows the cosmic secret that could change the human future. At the same time a small girl has gone missing in the town, and José Manuel's family is caught up in the search. Chema García Ibarra shot the film with non-professional actors in real locations. The camera is always still, the compositions symmetrical, and the acting deliberately flat; the result sits somewhere between a documentary and a joke. The comedy runs to a point, and then the film goes somewhere else entirely and much darker. The narrative shows provincial loneliness and the need to believe without mocking them. It screened at the Locarno Film Festival in 2021. Who it's for: Viewers who like Spanish independent cinema, black humour, and films with an odd tonal register. Who it's not for: What emerges in the final section is deeply disturbing. The abrupt change in tone also catches some viewers unprepared.