Errementari
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''Errementari'', also known as ''The Blacksmith and the Devil'', is a 2017 internationally co-produced Basque-language
period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
horror film directed by and written by Alijo and Asier Guerricaechebarría. The plot is based on the Basque
folktale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...
version of The Smith and the Devil, as collected by Father Joxemiel Barandiaran. The film sets the legend in 1843, with a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
holding a
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
in captivity, and an orphan girl who releases the demon from its cage.


Plot

In 1835 in Araba, during the
First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
, rebels are captured by government soldiers and executed. One rebel, Francisco Patxi, survives with the aid of a demon and slays the soldiers. Eight years later, government investigator Alfredo Ortiz arrives in Araba. He searches for Patxi, who now lives in a ruined
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
in the woods. The nearby villagers avoid the forge due to rumours that Patxi murdered his wife and kidnaps young children. The villagers mistrust Ortiz as the government melted down all their metal during the war to make weapons, including their
church bell A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...
. Benito, a boy from the village, steals a letter proving Ortiz is searching for gold that vanished during the war. Usue, an orphan girl with a burn scarred face, is bullied by Benito who throws her doll over Patxi's fence. Ortiz hires men from the village to raid the forge where he suspects Patxi has the missing gold, but are driven away by Patxi while one of the men falls into a bear trap and dies. Usue attempts to retrieve her doll while Patxi disposes of the dead man. Inside the forge, she finds a boy captive in an iron cage, who begs her to steal Patxi's ring of keys to free him. She does so successfully, but the boy retrieves a pitchfork and is revealed to be the demon Sartael. He kidnaps Usue and promises to return her for Patxi’s soul, but before he can escape, he is caught in another bear trap while Usue is knocked unconscious. Patxi breaks off one of the demons horns and locks him back in the cage. Benito tells Ortiz that Patxi and a demon have kidnapped Usue. Ortiz rallies the men to save Usue. Usue wakes up and finds Patxi torturing Sartael, who reveals that he made a deal with Patxi during the late war. Sartael kept Paxti alive during the war, so he could see his wife again. On his return home, Patxi found that his wife had taken a new lover, believing Patxi to be dead. Patxi teaches Usue how to torture demons by throwing
chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...
s on the floor, which demons are unable to resist trying to count, and by ringing gold bells blessed by the church. Usue asks Sartael if he can free her mother Maite from Hell after she committed suicide. Sartael reveals that humans are compelled to enter Hell by their own guilt, and once inside, they can never leave. Sartael is then knocked unconscious by Patxi. The villagers arrive and arrest Patxi while the priest reveals the truth about Patxi. Usue’s mother, Maite, was Patxi’s wife, but after he returned from the war he found Maite had taken a lover and given birth to Usue. Enraged, Patxi burned Usue’s face and murdered her father, while Maite, grief-stricken, hanged herself. Ashamed, Patxi gave Usue to the priest as an orphan, along with a replacement bell he forged for the church. The villagers find Sartael and Ortiz orders Patxi tortured until he returns the gold. Once alone with Sartael, Ortiz that reveals he is actually Sartael’s superior from Hell, the demon
Alastor Alastor (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλάστωρ, English translation: "avenger") refers to a number of people and concepts in Greek mythology: *Alastor, an epithet of the Greek God Zeus, according to Hesychius of Alexandria and the ''Etymologicum Ma ...
. Alastor reveals that Sartael has been demoted for failing to return to Hell with Patxi’s soul. Alastor orders Patxi be
hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
so he can collect his soul instead. The villagers, driven to religious hysteria, set fire to the forge. Sartael makes a deal with Usue to search for her mother in Hell if Usue frees him and rings the golden bell. Usue rings the bell, causing Ortiz to reveal his demon face. The two men hanging Patxi do flee, dropping Patxi to the floor. Usue frees Sartael but he is captured by the villagers. The priest slaps Usue for freeing Sartael and insults her mother, so Usue makes a deal with Alastor: her soul in exchange for being taken to her mother in Hell. Alastor agrees to this and kills her. Grief-stricken, Patxi agrees to let Sartael take him to Hell in exchange for saving Usue. Sartael agrees as he wants revenge against Alastor, but remarks that Patxi will need more than his small golden bell to survive Hell. Patxi reveals that the giant bell that he forged for the church is made from the very gold Ortiz was looking for. Sartael kills Patxi with his pitchfork, taking them both to the gates of Hell where thousands of damned souls are waiting to enter. Patxi finds Usue and fends off the demons guarding the gate. Alastor attacks Patxi but Usue throws Patxi’s jar of chickpeas at Alastor who is forced to try to count them. With Alastor’s defeat, the gates begin to close. Patxi sends Usue back with Sartael while he decides to remain in Hell to search for Maite. Usue wakes up back on earth. Sartael, grateful that Usue saved him from his cage, declares to the villagers that Usue was rejected from Hell because she is a true
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
and should be treated with respect. As the villagers gather around Usue, Sartael transforms into a young man and makes his way to the next town. On the way, Sartael is picked by a man travelling by cart and begins to tell him the tale of The Blacksmith, a man so ruthless and cruel that even the
Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
himself came to fear and respect him. In Hell, Patxi forces the gates of Hell open as he begins to search for his wife with his hammer and the golden bell on his back.


Cast


Production

The film was produced by Kinoskopik Film Produktion, Pokeepsie Films, Gariza Films, Nadie es Perfecto, Ikusgarri Films and The Project. It was shot in the extinct Alavese dialect of Basque.


Release

The film premiered at the 50th
Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...
in October 2017. Distributed by Filmax, it was theatrically released in Spain on March 2, 2018. It was released on October 12, 2017 on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
streaming.


Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 2019 , ,
33rd Goya Awards The 33rd Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AACCE), honored the best in Spanish films of 2018 and took place at the Conference and Exhibition Centre of Seville on 2 February 2019. The ceremony ...
, , Best Special Effects , , Jon Serrano, David Heras , , , ,


See also

* The Smith and the Devil *
List of Spanish films of 2018 A list of Spanish-produced and co-produced feature films released in Spain in 2018. When applicable, the domestic theatrical release date is favoured. Films Box office The ten highest-grossing Spanish feature films in 2018, by domestic ...


References


External links

* * {{authority control 2017 films 2017 horror films 2017 fantasy films French dark fantasy films Folk horror films Period horror films Basque-language films French horror films Spanish historical horror films European fairy tales Grimms' Fairy Tales Fictional smiths The Devil in fairy tales Deal with the Devil Films about personifications of death Films set in 1843 Pokeepsie Films films 2010s Spanish films 2010s French films Spanish dark fantasy films