El Conde (2023)

Pinochet, the blood thirsty past dictator of Chile, who ousted Allende in a U.S> backed coup, is at the center of this movie, and quite cleverly and successfully, is a vampire who has lived for centuries. His lust for blood and how he keeps it coming--a whole new meaning for a protein shake--is cinematically spectacular and gruesme at the same time. This is wild and weird and it will keep you thinking about it for days to come. Maybe months. An almost fairytale-like English-language voiceover (the reason for this choice will later be revealed) drives this grimly amusing account, first chronicling the malevolent escapades that Pinochet, then under a different name, enjoyed during the years leading up to the French Revolution. Moving along through history around the globe, always siding with the oppressive elite and actively destabilizing any left-leaning movements, he nourished not only his urge for blood but also his predilection for fascism. Pinochet has amassed a collection of morbid relics from his storied travels, including Napoleon’s hat and Marie Antoinette’s head. There comes a time when he decides that he is done with it, that he will cease to maraude and therefore die. News of this plan alarms Pinochet’s middle-aged children, a pack of greedy but listless individuals desperate to ensure their placid, entitled lifestyles remain undisturbed even if their patriarch wants to vanish. Concerned, they make the trek to Dad’s secret home to learn about his finances and future plans. The bulk of the movie is about this meet up, interspersed with flashbacks across his life. So good, no matter what you think about it based on this, it is well worth watching.