DAY 12: Kung fu!

This is the film that introduced the world to Marko Zaror, a man who moves with the kind of gravity-defying grace that makes you wonder if he’s actually human. It was written and directed by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, who also made Bring Me the Head of Machine Gun Woman and Fist of the Condor. 

The title Kiltro—a Chilean slang term for a mixed-breed mutt—is the perfect metaphor. It’s a mongrel of a movie, scavenging bits and pieces from the best of cinema history to create something entirely its own.

Our hero is Zamir (Zaror), a street-tough romantic who handles his crush on Kim (Caterina Jadresic) with the subtlety of a sledgehammer: if you look at her, you’re getting a boot to the face. When the villainous Max Kalba shows up looking to settle a blood feud involving the sect of martial artists, Zamir has to evolve from a street brawler into a true warrior. He ends up training with a drunken master (the classic trope, played perfectly by Alejandro Castillo) and eventually taps into the legendary Zeta style.

Expect kidnapping, tragic backstories involving parents and a climactic showdown where bladed shoes make a terrifying appearance. It’s pure, uncut adrenaline while being a mixtape of its influences, referencing scenes to Leos Carax’s Bad Blood (complete with the Bowie song “Modern Love“), an Ennio Morricone-inspired score and direct hat-tips to Kung Fu, The Man with the Golden Gun (with a character named Nik Nak!) and Ichi the Killer.

As for Zaror, he’s the real deal. In an era where editing hides the lack of talent, Zaror lets the camera linger on his acrobatics. He is the Chilean Scott Adkins, the South American JKVD, and he sells every single punch.

Kiltro is the sound of a filmmaker discovering their voice while shouting at the top of their lungs about every movie they’ve ever loved. It’s not refined cinema, and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Espinoza and Zaror had been planning this movie since high school. It was time well spent.

You can watch this on Tubi.