Giallo spotlight: "Matador"

Join Movie Club Member Kyle C. for the next movie in his giallo series.
Here's how it works:

1. We will be meeting at Dot's Cafe, 2521 SE Clinton St., on Sunday, May 10 from 4-6pm
2. Grab some food and drinks and we'll spend some time discussing this masterpiece. (NOTE: Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet, streaming links below)

Movie Spotlight:

Pedro Almodovar's 1986 film Matador follows Diego Montes, a once‑celebrated bullfighter forced into retirement after a career‑ending injury. Now teaching young students, he channels his obsessions into watching old thrillers and revisiting the rituals of the bullring. One of his pupils, Ángel, is a timid young man plagued by vertigo and disturbing visions he can’t explain. When a series of murders begins to surface, Ángel confesses despite clear signs he may not understand what he’s admitting to.

As the investigation unfolds, Diego crosses paths with María Cardenal, a mysterious lawyer whose cool self‑possession and fascination with death mirror his own. Their connection pulls the story into a world where desire, violence, and ritual intertwine, and where the line between hunter and hunted becomes increasingly unstable. The film builds its suspense through shifting perspectives, psychological unease, and the sense that characters are drawn toward a fate they both fear and crave.

Although Matador is unmistakably Almodóvar—bold colors, dark humor, erotic charge—it borrows several stylistic and thematic elements from Italian giallo cinema, especially the work of Mario Bava and Dario Argento:

• Stylized violence and eroticism Giallo films often fuse sexuality with danger, and Matador leans into this blend, using desire as a catalyst for mystery and violence.
• Murder as ritual The killings in the film echo the ritualistic precision of giallo murder set‑pieces, with symbolic objects and repeated gestures that heighten the psychological tension.
• Visual homage The film explicitly references giallo imagery—Diego is shown watching scenes from Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, one of the genre’s foundational works.
• Psychological instability and unreliable perception Ángel’s vertigo, visions, and fragmented understanding of events echo the genre’s fascination with distorted memory and subjective reality.
• A detective‑adjacent structure without being a procedural Like many gialli, the film uses an investigation as a narrative spine but focuses more on mood, obsession, and character psychology than on traditional mystery‑solving.

In short, Matador filters giallo’s lurid style and psychological intensity through Almodóvar’s uniquely Spanish lens—mixing melodrama, sexuality, and dark humor into something that feels both referential and entirely his own.

Tips:

1. Haven't seen the movie before? You're in for a treat - try to watch the movie sometime before we meet (Streaming Options include Amazon Prime and AppleTV.) Just like a book club we don't watch the movie at our meetup, just discuss it. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you can.
2. I usually take a few notes while I watch to keep from forgetting the most interesting stuff. If you think of some interesting discussion topics while you watch, bring 'em with you!
3. We'll decide on our next giallo movie to watch! Come with suggestions.

Are you not that familiar with the giallo genre? Read the Wikipedia entry to learn more. Is there a giallo you'd like to propose the group watch and discuss next? Here's a comprehensive list of Italian giallos along with films influenced by the genre. Maybe there's a film you've heard about but needed an excuse to watch--come join us for discussion & make a suggestion!

Coming to the group for the first time, but interested in movies previously watched & discussed? Here's a list of all previous giallos watched and discussed by the group (with group rating)!

On Discord? Join the Portland Movie Club!