Using human corpses and invoking the spirits of two damned Secretaries of State, a girl performs a ritual to free the kingdom of Chile from its feudal heritage.
Directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña (“The Wolf House”), and executive produced by Ari Aster (“Midsommar”), “The Bones” (Venice ’21) is a fictitious account of the world’s first stop-motion animated film. Dated 1901 and excavated in 2021 as Chile drafts a new Constitution, the footage documents a ritual performed by a girl who appears to use human corpses. Emerging in the ritual are Diego Portales and Jaime Guzmán, central figures in the construction of authoritarian and oligarchic Chile.
Similar to their previous stop-motion short, “The Wolf House,” León and Cociña have crafted another haunting account of Chilean history. Colored in moody black and white with a classical music score, “The Bones” is inspired by older works by Tim Burton (when he was talented) and films of the silent era. It begins with La Niña, a young girl with a big smile conjuring the spirits of Portales and Guzmán. After opening the floorboards to unearth the pair’s skeletal remains, La Nina begins drumming on their skulls. After some fascinating incantations, their patriarchal bones morph into puppets that are controlled by the little girl. La Niña is based on a young girl who was impregnated and ultimately discarded by Portales. Here she gets to rewrite her past and perhaps change the country’s future. While there is a lot of history and horror to unpack, it is astounding to watch historical figures get literally dissected.
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