Kiltro (2006) Biography, Plot, Film references, Scene.

Kiltro (2006)

Kiltro is a Chilean martial arts film released in 2006. Directed and written by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and starring the martial artist Marko Zaror. The word Kiltro is a stylized spelling of the word quiltro, used in Chile and Bolivia to designate a mixed-breed dog.

Plot.

Street tough Zamir has been in love with Kim ever since he rescued her from rapists, but the only way that he can express his affection is to attack any man who shows interest in her. Kim tolerates Zamir’s infatuation, but keeps him at arm’s length. When Max Kalba arrives in town to take vengeance on Kim’s father, Zamir attempts to rescue her once again. Kalba overpowers Zamir and kidnaps Kim’s father, who is the Master at the Korean martial arts school. Kim and Zamir flee and take refuge with a mystic dwarf named Nik Nak, who explains that Kalba will kill everyone linked to the “Sect” of martial artists to which Kim and Zamir’s fathers belonged. A series of flashbacks reveal a love triangle between Kim’s parents and Kalba, which resulted in her mother’s suicide.

While Zamir trains with a drunken Sect member named Jose Soto, Kalba’s minions kidnap Kim. Zamir learns to fight in the “Zeta” style and is given a pair of bladed spurs for his feet. He arrives at Kalba’s headquarters and easily cuts through Kalba’s minions to fight the man himself. Kalba taunts Zamir with the fact that he has murdered Zamir’s mother, and gains the upper hand. On the brink of defeat, Zamir takes strength from his love of Kim and kills Kalba. Later, Zamir checks up on Kim, and she grants him a second kiss in thanks. He departs to reunite with Jose Soto, whom he has learned is his father.

Film references.

The film contains a number of references to aspects of popular films and television shows. Baylor University film scholar Moises Park lists a partial list of references. Among them: In the scene where Zamir runs down a street at night to the music of David Bowie’s “Modern Love” is a parody of a scene in Leos Carax’s Bad Blood. The film’s score is a pastiche of Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western scores, and one passage is taken directly from the score of Once Upon a Time in the West. The scene in which Zamir must attempt to snatch a pebble from his master’s hand is a reference to the famous test in the television series Kung Fu. The name of the dwarf Nik Nak is a reference to the dwarf villain Nick Nack in The Man with the Golden Gun. The torture victim suspended by hooks and the main character’s bladed shoes are both elements of the film Ichi the Killer.