Vienna Waltz

A Spanish Fighting Bull gazes at us. A steady, strong gaze from the animal; a nervous, worried gaze from us, even as we sit on the safe side of the screen. Photographically, there is a strange, misty, aestheticising sheen. These mixed signals weave a spell. Albert Serra knows how to get our blood pumping and our senses working overtime. Even before the image fades in, the sound of this creature breathing – it seems initially to be the rhythmic pulsation of a massive steam train – is overwhelming. The image of the bull, singular at first, turns into a...