Every day, someone picks up a camera — 8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm, iPhone, iPad, Android, whatever they can find — and they tell a story with it. They combine image with sound to inspire, delight, terrify, or simply entertain. Movies are capable of doing more than one thing at once and, sometimes, not even what the filmmaker intends, whether supported by a major studio budget, a micro budget, or no budget at all. In the latest project from writer/director Fábio Powers (Gametrade: The Movie), creativity and intellectualism connect like pieces of a mighty Zord to entertain, amuse, and challenge audiences in the delightful The Old Man and the Demon Sword (O Velho e a Espada), having its world premiere during Fantasia International Film Festival 2024.
On a mission for the Neo Templar, a warrior monk (João Pedro Lopes) finds himself in the small village of Pé da Serra, tucked in the mountains of Portugal. The villiage itself is not particularly outstanding, but the monk discovers that not only is it surrounded by a barely perceptible barrier, but there are demon-like beings everywhere. Tasked with clearing such creatures, he unleashes his magically-enhanced sword possessed by a demon (voiced by João Loy), but, soon after, loses his blade. Who should find it? Town drunk António da Luz (António da Luz) who doesn’t understand why the sword speaks, who these creatures are, and what it means that he must step in to save his home.
Borrowing from Japanese tokusatsu tales with a dash of C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, The Old Man and the Demon Sword is like a Portuguese Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995) with a focus on the metaphysical rather than supernatural. Those are a lot of comparisons and all of them are apt as the VFX is comically low-budget, but never at the expense of the narrative or the ideas within it. Sure, the primary combatants are called “Fears,” dressed in black outfits that are outfitted with CG black-colored trailing, and a select few have skull masks for … reasons, suggesting that there’s not much of a budget for specialized costumes. Honestly, and this doesn’t mock the film in the slightest, much of the VFX seems to have gone into the design of the demon sword once it comes into António’s possession, as it shifts from a katana into something akin to Soul Edge from the Soulcalibur video game series (which is likely the intention given Powers’s past projects centering video games). The switch in tool design does make the scenes between the two a little more engaging as the eye of the sword moves, making any shots of the sword seem more dynamic, though all credit for making the performance work belongs to Loy for the convincing and compelling delivery. By comparison to the prior design of a katana, there’s nothing particularly dynamic or engaging about it beyond conveying a certain Ronin-like energy unto the warrior monk when we meet him, itself a confluence of ideas from one culture grafted onto a figure in a different land. One might think that Demon Sword is just one multi-cultural appropriated reference after another like Deadpool when he’s conscious, when the intention is far more targeted and specific within its use. The story involves the corruption of souls, so these affectations — the tokusatsu-like creatures, the demon-possessed sword — are just manifestations of evil that resonate cinematically while their use and metaphysical dissection is specific to António.
António da Luz as António da Luz in THE OLD MAN AND THE DEMON SWORD. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
This is where the Screwtape elements come in as António may be a drunk, but he believes in the soul and its purity. Therefore, teaming up with a demon sword is risky business, yet a necessary one as the new possessor of the blade and with the threat within the village rising. This translates to a great deal of discussion regarding the soul, its value, and the paradox of believing in free will, but also an all-mighty creator who knows your choices before you make them and praises or dooms you as a result. Between motorcycle chases, sword fights, and the appearance of natural spirits, António and the sword argue endlessly with the sword making some fascinatingly good points. Does this imply that Powers’s script is anti-religion or pro-anarchy or, through the devout nature of António, does it convey the complexity of faith and the necessary work of wrestling with it in order to maintain it? Being of the Reform Judaism faith, we read, evaluate, and grapple again and again with the Torah. It’s what we do, which seems to be the opposite of most Christian faiths, which view the Word as infallible as opposed to an exemplum. One doesn’t come to a film such as Demon Sword and expect complex concepts to take such a center stage so much so that it’s really the foundation from which the entire adventure is built up, which ultimately aids the film in being more than a joke to be passed around, but something with weight to be considered and mulled.
Though the film runs just over an hour, Powers has packed the film tightly with gags of sight and sound, as well as ideas that make the totality of The Old Man and the Demon Sword quite rich. From the editing and cinematography, it’s quite clear that Powers is a student of the types of grindhouse and low budget films Demon Sword draws inspiration from. There are surprises to be hand here and one can’t help but applaud what Powers attempts to do in the conclusion. It’s a bit slight of hand, a little bit farcical, and certainly meta, with the effectiveness based on how the audience responds to everything preceding it. If nothing else, Powers’s choice of ending does warrant an immediate re-watch in order to review and reconsider the adventure for what it is.
As stated in the introduction, what is cinema but an opportunity to inspire, delight, terrify, or entertain? In this regard, Powers’s The Old Man and the Demon Sword manages to accomplish all four to varying degrees of success.
Screening during Fantasia International Film Festival 2024.
For more information, head to the official Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 The Old Man and the Demon Sword webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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