Patricio Contreras
Encyclopedia
Patricio Contreras is a well-known Chile
an-Argentine
film actor.
in 1947 and emigrated to neighboring Argentina following the 1973 coup d'état against left-wing President Salvador Allende
, of whom Contreras was a vocal supporter. He was shortly afterwards cast in a number of minor Argentine cinema roles, notable among them a part in Adolfo Aristarain
's 1978 crime thriller, La parte del león
(The Lion's Share).
He married an up-and-coming Argntine actress, Leonor Manso, in 1981, and in 1983, he was given his first significant film role as the treacherous Sergeant Comini in Aristarain's Funny Dirty Little War
. Contreras then gave what became perhaps his best-known performance as the targeted Professor Benítez in the Oscar
-winning The Official Story
(1985), for which he was awarded a Silver Condor. This was followed a leading role in Juan José Jusid
's emotional look at exile, Made in Argentina (1986), which earned Contreras a Havana Film Festival
Best Actor Award.
He appeared next to Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda in the 1989 movie "Old Gringo
".
He starred in fellow Chilean exile Miguel Littín
's Sandino (1990), and the end of General Augusto Pinochet
's dictatorship in 1990 allowed Contreras to return to Chile itself, where he starred as the lead in Ricardo Larraín's La Frontera
(1991). Continuing to live and work in Argentina, he starred in Betty Kaplan
's adaptation of Chilean writer Isabel Allende
's Of Love and Shadows (1995), and to his film credits were added those in the local theatre, notably his work in a local, 1996-98 production of Samuel Beckett
's Waiting for Godot
(directed by his wife). His marriage suffered, however, and the couple were divorced in 2001. Among Contreras' later film roles some of the best-known are as writer Rodolfo Walsh
's version of Hercule Poirot
in Santiago Carlos Oves' Asesinato a Distancia (Murder at a Distance, 1998), and as the merciless detective in Eduardo Mignogna
's fact-based La fuga
(The Escape, 2001). He was reunited with his ex-wife for the stage in 2007 in her production of Sarah Kane
's Blasted
.
Contreras continues to live in Buenos Aires
and remains a prolific film and stage actor.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an-Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
film actor.
Life and work
Contreras was born in Santiago, ChileSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
in 1947 and emigrated to neighboring Argentina following the 1973 coup d'état against left-wing President Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, of whom Contreras was a vocal supporter. He was shortly afterwards cast in a number of minor Argentine cinema roles, notable among them a part in Adolfo Aristarain
Adolfo Aristarain
Adolfo Aristarain is an Argentine film director whom Variety has deemed a "master filmmaker."After leaving Argentina Aristarain started working as assistant director in the Arcente cinema, and then in Europe during his short exile for Mario Camus, Giorgio Stegani and Lewis Gilbert before...
's 1978 crime thriller, La parte del león
La Parte del león
La Parte del león is a 1978 Argentine film....
(The Lion's Share).
He married an up-and-coming Argntine actress, Leonor Manso, in 1981, and in 1983, he was given his first significant film role as the treacherous Sergeant Comini in Aristarain's Funny Dirty Little War
Funny Dirty Little War
Funny Dirty Little War is an Argentine film. The movie is directed by Héctor Olivera, and the screenplay was written by Olivera and Roberto Cossa, based on a novel of the same name written by Osvaldo Soriano. The motion picture was produced by Fernando Ayala and Luis O. Repetto; and features...
. Contreras then gave what became perhaps his best-known performance as the targeted Professor Benítez in the Oscar
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
-winning The Official Story
The Official Story
The Official Story is a 1985 Argentine drama film directed by Luis Puenzo, and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, and Chunchuna Villafañe, among others. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Official Version.The film is about an upper middle class...
(1985), for which he was awarded a Silver Condor. This was followed a leading role in Juan José Jusid
Juan José Jusid
Juan José Jusid is an Argentine film director and screenwriter.He started his professional career as an actor, Puppeteer and stage photographer in the 1960s then switched to film studies at the Association of Short Film Directors.He turned director and screenwriter in 1968 and has directed...
's emotional look at exile, Made in Argentina (1986), which earned Contreras a Havana Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
Best Actor Award.
He appeared next to Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda in the 1989 movie "Old Gringo
Old Gringo
Old Gringo is a 1989 film directed by Luis Puenzo and co-written with Aída Bortnik, based on the novel Gringo Viejo by Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes.The film stars Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Smits....
".
He starred in fellow Chilean exile Miguel Littín
Miguel Littin
Miguel Ernesto Littín Cucumides is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides....
's Sandino (1990), and the end of General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
's dictatorship in 1990 allowed Contreras to return to Chile itself, where he starred as the lead in Ricardo Larraín's La Frontera
The Frontier (film)
The Frontier is a 1991 Chilean film directed by Ricardo Larraín and starring Patricio Contreras and Gloria Laso. Larraín won the Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:...
(1991). Continuing to live and work in Argentina, he starred in Betty Kaplan
Betty Kaplan
Betty Kaplan is a Venezuelan-American film director born in New York City and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She has directed Betty Kaplan is a Venezuelan-American film director born in New York City and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She has directed Betty Kaplan is a Venezuelan-American film...
's adaptation of Chilean writer Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
's Of Love and Shadows (1995), and to his film credits were added those in the local theatre, notably his work in a local, 1996-98 production of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
(directed by his wife). His marriage suffered, however, and the couple were divorced in 2001. Among Contreras' later film roles some of the best-known are as writer Rodolfo Walsh
Rodolfo Walsh
Rodolfo Jorge Walsh was an Argentine writer, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta which he wrote the day before his murder, protesting that their economic policies were having an even greater effect on...
's version of Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
in Santiago Carlos Oves' Asesinato a Distancia (Murder at a Distance, 1998), and as the merciless detective in Eduardo Mignogna
Eduardo Mignogna
Eduardo Mignogna was an Argentinian film director and screenwriter.- Filmography :* 1975 - La Raulito en libertad * 1983 - El Desquite...
's fact-based La fuga
La Fuga
La Fuga is an Argentine 2001 film directed by Eduardo Mignogna.The picture stars Mignogna's friend and frequent collaborator, Ricardo Darin, as well as Miguel Angel Sola, Gerardo Romano, Patricio Contreras, Ines Estevez, Alejandro Awada and Norma Aleandro.-Plot:In the summer of 1928, seven inmates...
(The Escape, 2001). He was reunited with his ex-wife for the stage in 2007 in her production of Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
's Blasted
Blasted
Blasted is the first play by British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. This performance was highly controversial and the play was fiercely attacked by most newspaper critics, many of whom regarded it as a rather immature attempt to...
.
Contreras continues to live in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and remains a prolific film and stage actor.