Maximum Shame

• Directed By: Carlos Atanes
• Written By: Carlos Atanes
• Country: Spain
• Released: 2010
• Running Time: 80 minutes
• Links: Official Site
• Fantasy, Music, Reviews, Science Fiction

Maximum Shame is a film packed with both ideas and obsessions, expressed by deliberately outlandish characters existing in an absurdist environment beyond time and space. The result is incredibly engaging on both a visceral and an intellectual level, but it has caused me some problems in trying to put together a coherent review.

It is probably true of most films that the less you know beforehand, the more you will enjoy the experience. Not knowing where things are leading allows you to appreciate the plot as it develops and, often, become more engaged with the characters as they face the challenges that the narrative places in front of them. For a minority of these films, the narrative and characters are so different to anything you have seen before that not knowing too much becomes almost crucial. Maximum Shame falls very squarely into this category. Because of this I find myself more than a little wary of giving away too much information.

What I can tell you is that the film centres on a couple (played by Paco Moreno and Ana Mayo) who are individually drawn into a Labyrinthine warehouse dominated by a roller-skate wearing dominatrix (Marina Gatell) known only as The Queen. This environment exists in a limbo between reality and fantasy where the normal rules of time and space have ceased to apply, and it’s here that The Queen uses her denizens as pieces in a chess-inspired game, the rules of which are never made clear. Or maybe The Queen is merely a piece in someone else’s game – the game, as with every other element in the film is as open to interpretation as you want it to be.

This is a film in which symbolism is richly layered to create an environment dense with information and implication but also one which, superficially at least, is surprisingly easy to follow. The more that you engage with the film, however, and the more willing you are to run with the ideas being explored, the deeper it becomes.

Much in the film seems deliberately designed to heighten the air of unreality even though – as with all good SF – the themes that writer/director, Carlos Atanes wants to deal with are very much grounded in the real world. No-one is named in the film. Instead, everyone we encounter is referred to by the chess piece they represent in this dingy, run-down labyrinth of a board. Characters tend to deliver monologues at each other rather than hold conversations and the events portrayed range from the comical to the dramatic, often by way of the absurd. This includes two complete song and dance routines.

There is a distinctly chaotic feel to this film but Atanes manages to keep it on the edge of credibility. Much of this credibility, however, derives from the performances delivered by the cast. This is especially true of Marina Gatell who, as The Queen puts in a performance that is spectacularly deranged and utterly fascinating. While she comfortably dominates the proceedings, t the rest of the cast also deliver consistently strong performances all of which manage to maintain a fascination with the characters regardless of the humiliations they put themselves through.

While Maximum Shame is a very visceral experience – and one that makes copious use of fetish gear, gags, violence, the promise of sex, and much else – this is a film that is very much driven by its themes. These themes are both broad and deep and touch on sex, power, ethics, religion, and much else besides. What you won’t see, however, are heavy-handed explanations. Atanes is confident enough to leave it to the viewer to be able to both understand and interpret the symbolism used. Of course, as with anything open to interpretation, your interpretation may differ from mine.

Maximum Shame is a narrative puzzle which, like chess, sets up a series of rules that are superficially simple but which allow for endlessly complex positions to be developed and explored. This is a film that does expect you to pay attention and one that will challenge you to consider many of your preconceived notions. If you do pay attention, however, and if you are willing to consider the ideas that batter your consciousness, you will find that Maximum Shame is a richly rewarding experience.

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