YO (ME)

Spain, 2007, 100 minutes, Colour.
Alex Brendemuhl.
Directed by Rafa Cortes.

Yo is an enigmatic Spanish drama about identity. It focuses on a worker, Hans, arriving in Majorca – but there has been a man with a similar name in the past. Is it the same man, what is the link between them? What is the nature of identity, especially in terms of relationships and in terms of locations? The leading actor Alex Bendemuhl featured in the Spanish film, The Hours of the Day. An intriguing film.

1.A Spanish film? German interest? European setting of the 21st century? Migrants and workers?

2.The Spanish Isles, the use of colour, reality and unreality? The drained colour for most of the film? The bright colour at the end? The streets, the bars, the shops, interiors of the house, darkness? The musical score?

3.The title, the focus on Hans? Who he is? The other Hans? The discussion of reincarnation? The body at the bottom of the well? The issues of identity? Covering identity? New identities? The significance of the letters Hans wrote to his wife and others? Hans at the end?

4.Truc, the game, the cards, the players, the truth and the deception, the techniques, the tricks? The championship? Victory?

5.The Hans at the end, the playing of Truc, his winning – and the whole film as a game of Truc?

6.Hans, German, in Spain, the opening, his search, finding the Tanca house? The discussions about the former Hans? Tanca – and his not being the real Tanca? The real Tanca losing the house, working for the new owner? Sylvia? Wealth? His room, settling in, the cook and the meals, his examining the food, the saying of the sixteen judges on feeding on the hanged man? His meeting Miquellet, Miquellet showing him the road? Miquellet’s return, the explanations, the explanation of Truc, searching for the other Hans? Catalina, the bar? The washing? Her looking for Hans? Nina, her work at the bar, the date, the sexual encounter, Hans breaking with her?

7.Hans and his hard work, the beer, the bottle, the whisky, the arguments, his buying the bottle of whisky as a gift? The box of alcohol? Tanca’s respons?

8.Tanca, his moods, explanations, playing table tennis, going away? His wife and her social life?

9.The mystery of the body in the well, Hans covering it with the cement? The worker and his coming in to examine the work? The bats? Hans, sense of presence, the other Hans and his belongings?

10.The puzzle about identity? The comments about philosophy and life?