Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

El Pico 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 12, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection.

It can be kind of interesting to trace when various genres or subgenres in film started to appear in various countries. In the United States, for example, there was a veritable glut of so-called "juvenile delinquent" films that began showing up in the fifties in particular, though there are probably isolated incidents of quasi-JDs appearing considerably earlier (arguably like those seen in 1937's Dead End, who continued on as The East Side Kids, among other appellations) . But the post-World War II era really seemed to give rise to this kind of film, with everything from Blackboard Jungle to Rebel Without a Cause ensuing (both of those interestingly from the same year of 1955). The genre may have tended more toward exploitation fare as it continued, with more overtly hyperbolic productions like Reform School Girl, The Green-Eyed Blonde and The Party Crashers (the last two directed by genre stalwart Bernard Girard, and the last film offering the final big screen performances from both Frances Farmer and Bobby Driscoll). By the time juvenile delinquents were seen singing and dancing in West Side Story, the genre may have obviously morphed pretty significantly, but in its own way, it continued apace with any number of films throughout the sixties and beyond, including a glut of "biker gang" outings.

Perhaps due to the influence of Franco, who may not have wanted the world to think that "his" country had any problems with errant youth, Spain didn't really start offering juvenile delinquent films until the 1970s, though, again, there are isolated examples that can be cited, like Luis Bunuel's The Young and the Damned, which kind of interestingly given the above data was released in 1950. The word quinqui was utilized to define this emerging late 70s - early 80s genre (or subgenre, if you prefer) featuring Spanish JDs, and while that word may seem like it should be inherently linked etymologically to "delinquent", the actual facts may be a bit different, as is discussed in one of the supplements included on this set of discs. Whatever the genesis of the term actually is, Eloy de la Iglesia is considered one of the prime creators of quinqui films, and this collection from Severin offers a trio of often graphically disturbing works that have a bit of a Neorealist flavor to them, albeit in the mean streets of Madrid and Bilbao rather than Rome and environs.

El Pico was something of a sensation when it was released, and perhaps inevitably El Pico 2 was the follow up. While it arguably suffers a bit from "sophomore slump", it may not be by much, as this second film offering José Luis Manzano as criminal and heroin addict Paco has its own very disturbing storyline and tragic arc. The film may be a bit disjunctive seeming when watched immediately after El Pico since, in "second Darrin" mode, Paco's father Evaristo is now played by Fernando Guillén rather than by José Manuel Cervino, and the two actors bear little to no resemblance to each other. This is made perhaps even more problematic by the fact that de la Iglesia basically features a "previously. . .on El Pico" set of flashbacks to (re?)introduce the story audiences, and the omission of the character of Evaristo from those flashbacks will perhaps be noticeable to some.

In any case, El Pico 2 follows Paco attempting to pick up the pieces of his life after the horrifying events the filled the third act of the first film. Again, as is the case in all three of the films in this Quinqui Collection, there's seems to be a glimmer of hope, but things go from bad to worse, ending with Paco being incarcerated, where he becomes part of a prison gang with some rather unusual members (suffice it to say that de la Iglesia's focus on gay and other "alternative" lifestyles continues apace in this film with a featured transsexual character who was probably quite provocative for the film's production era).

While perhaps not having quite the same sociopolitical underpinning as El Pico, there's still some subtext here dealing with Basque separatism and Spanish nationalism, though it's often subsumed within a story of addiction and people trapped by the vagaries of fate into making disastrous decisions.

El Pico 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

El Pico 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. The back cover of this release states that all three films in this collection have been "scanned in HD from the original negatives". As with its two siblings in this set, El Pico 2 looks largely very impressive in this presentation, with generally excellent fine detail levels and a nicely organic looking grain field. This, somewhat like Navajeros, could look just slightly yellow to me at times, so that, for example, reds can verge just a bit toward orange territory. Still, suffusion is generally great throughout, and as with its progenitor, close-ups of needles entering arms can offer enough detail levels to make more squeamish types squirm. I noticed no real age related wear and tear.

El Pico 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

El Pico 2 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that offers good, solid renderings of the film's often provocative dialogue, along with realistic accountings of disparate environments like the claustrophobic prison cells or more expansive outdoor environments. Dialogue and underscore are both presented with excellent fidelity and some appealing dynamic range. Optional English subtitles are available.

El Pico 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:49)

El Pico 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

El Pico 2 finds Paco struggling mightily to get clean, but those with any experience with addiction may already sense that Paco's struggle may in fact be for naught. This is another unavoidably sad film, and it's filled with a kind of rage combined with melancholy that's quite interesting. As with the two other films in this set, Manzano is a magnetic presence. Technical merits are solid, and El Pico 2 comes Recommended.