Tangos, l'exil de Gardel (1985)

Director:

Fernando E. Solanas

Writer:

Fernando E. Solanas (writer)

Release Date:

21 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Plot:

Some Argentinians, exiled in Paris, decide to put on a tango-ballet, dedicated to Carlos Gardel, a legendary Argentinian tango star.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Tango

Awards:

8 wins

Cast

Marie Laforêt	...	Mariana
Miguel Ángel Solá	...	Juan Dos
Philippe Léotard	...	Pierre
Lautaro Murúa	...	Gerardo
Ana María Picchio	...	Ana
Marina Vlady	...	Florence
Georges Wilson	...	Jean-Marie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guillermo Angelelli
Eduardo Arquimbau
Michel Etcheverry	...	San Martin
Leonor Galindo
Héctor Malamud
Gregorio Manzur	...	Carlos Gardel
Claude Melki	...	El Angel
Fernando E. Solanas	...	Discepolo
Gabriela Toscano

Also Known As:

Tangos, el exilio de Gardel (Argentina)
Tangos, the Exile of Gardel (USA)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

Argentina | France

Language:

French | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Argentina:13 | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Trivia:

Argentina's official selection for the 1986 Oscar Awards, Foreign Language film category.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tango Maestro (2004) (TV)

Wallflowers

Being a branch on the Spanish film-making tree, Argentines have no problem with the idea of blending a show within a movie, to the world of the movie itself, and then to the world outside the movie in which the viewer lives.

I call this folding.

I came to this because I knew it had this quality. And that it had something else that fascinates me: dance. Filmed dance is one of the most intriguing problems for a filmmaker and rewarding for a viewer. I love it when it works.

Also, I discovered on viewing that it plays with a related notion: that you cannot really see something that you are part of. You have to be in a fold, removed a bit. And it has yet another notion that compels. Sex as movement, as choreographed caress between two people who have poise that comes from wisdom through grace or pain, usually a mix. Its not a typical Hispanic idea, and is unique to Argentina, a philosophy of embodiment that corresponds in a way to fine acting. This alone, this one idea alone can melt the cauterized heart, and when experienced in life or remembered in art is transforming.

Yes, this film has all these ideas in it. Probably, the filmmaker is one of those wonderful people to know, full of ideas that spill out in ways that don't matter. Any intelligent, or fully felt conversation on any of these ideas will be more valuable than this movie. In fact, that is yet another idea here, that real touch has no substitute. None at all.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.