Tango (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
Tango is a 1998 Argentine tango
film written and directed by Carlos Saura
and photographed by acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro
. The film is an Argentine and Spanish production.
, Mario Suárez, a middle-aged theatre director, is left holed up in his apartment, licking his wounds when his girlfriend (and principal dancer) Laura leaves him. Seeking distraction, he throws himself into his next project, a musical about the tango. One evening, while meeting with his backers, he is introduced to a beautiful young woman, Elena, the girlfriend of his chief investor Angelo, a shady businessman with underworld connections. Angelo asks Mario to audition Elena. He does so and is immediately captivated by her. Eventually, he takes her out of the chorus and gives her a leading role. An affair develops between them, but the possessive Angelo has her followed, and threatens her with dire consequences if she leaves him, mirroring Mario's own feelings and actions towards Laura before Elena entered his life.
The investors are unhappy with some of Mario's dance sequences. They don't like a routine which criticises the violent military repression and torture of the past. Angelo has been given a small part, which he takes very seriously. The lines between fact and fiction begin to blur: during a scene in the musical showing immigrants newly arrived in Argentina, two men fight over the character played by Elena. She is stabbed. Only slowly do we realise that her death is not for real.
. Tango classics alternate with Lalo Schifrin
's score. Famed tango dancers appear onscreen in dark dances depicting passions, sorrows, and the past history of Argentina
, including a war ballet, as Saura noted, "We needed a scene that would be brutal, and a ballet that would be violent and aggressive, which we don't often see in musicals. It frightened me. There was a great deal of tension on the set because some of the dancers had loved ones who had suffered during those years, and the ballet re-creates the terrible feeling of the period. Tango was shown out of competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival
.
...", which recalls historical themes of rebellion and which are taken up when a danced representation of the Junta's repression is enacted.
There is less dancing than usual in Saura's films. Clearly, he has experts to work with, and the focus on the foot tracing catlike its path on the floor has the flavor of a point newly inculcated, and yet it is appropriate, and not the amateur mistake made by many dance filmmakers of concentrating the camera only on the feet or legs, which misses the whole point of the dance coming from the dancer's center.
The film caused some controversy by a lavish dance scene between Elena and Laura, that ends in a lesbian kissing scene. This was criticized by some tango fans who claimed that same sex tango, even being common, doesn't have usually a sexual connotation.
Argentine tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
film written and directed by Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura Atarés is a Spanish film director and photographer.-Early life:Born into a family of artists , he developed his artistic sense in childhood as a photography enthusiast.He obtained his directing diploma in Madrid in 1957 at the Institute of Cinema Research and Studies...
and photographed by acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro
Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer.In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild judged Storaro one of history's ten most influential cinematographers.-Biography:...
. The film is an Argentine and Spanish production.
Plot
In Buenos AiresBuenos 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...
, Mario Suárez, a middle-aged theatre director, is left holed up in his apartment, licking his wounds when his girlfriend (and principal dancer) Laura leaves him. Seeking distraction, he throws himself into his next project, a musical about the tango. One evening, while meeting with his backers, he is introduced to a beautiful young woman, Elena, the girlfriend of his chief investor Angelo, a shady businessman with underworld connections. Angelo asks Mario to audition Elena. He does so and is immediately captivated by her. Eventually, he takes her out of the chorus and gives her a leading role. An affair develops between them, but the possessive Angelo has her followed, and threatens her with dire consequences if she leaves him, mirroring Mario's own feelings and actions towards Laura before Elena entered his life.
The investors are unhappy with some of Mario's dance sequences. They don't like a routine which criticises the violent military repression and torture of the past. Angelo has been given a small part, which he takes very seriously. The lines between fact and fiction begin to blur: during a scene in the musical showing immigrants newly arrived in Argentina, two men fight over the character played by Elena. She is stabbed. Only slowly do we realise that her death is not for real.
Cast
- Miguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel Solá is a prolific Argentine actor who has made over 60 film appearances in film and TV in Argentina since 1973....
as Mario Suárez - Mía MaestroMía MaestroMía Maestro is an Argentine actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Nadia Santos in the television drama Alias, and as Christina Kahlo in Frida.-Life and acting career:...
as Elena Flores - Cecilia Narova as Laura Fuentes
- Juan Luis GaliardoJuan Luis GaliardoJuan Luis Galiardo is a Spanish television and film actor.-Selected filmography:* Le tre spade di Zorro * The Call of the Wild * Pasodoble * The Girl of Your Dreams * El coronel Macià...
as Angelo Larroca - Juan Carlos CopesJuan Carlos CopesJuan Carlos Copes is an Argentine tango dancer, choreographer, and performer. He contributed to worldwide revival of tango as a dance form after 1970....
as Carlos Nebbia - Carlos Rivarola as Ernesto Landi
- Sandra Ballesteros as María Elman
- Óscar Cardozo Ocampo as Daniel Stein
- Enrique PintiEnrique PintiEnrique Pinti is a famous Argentine political humorist and actor.As a humorist, he performs stand-up shows with long monologues on Argentine politics and history, speaking at an extremely fast pace and resorting to a mix of common swearwords and elaborate insults to qualify notorious examples of...
as Sergio Lieman - Julio BoccaJulio BoccaJulio Bocca is one of the most important ballet dancers of the later part of the 20th century and arguably the most important Argentine dancer of all time....
as Julio Bocca - Martín Seefeld as Andrés Castro
Production
Promoted as the most expensive Argentine film ever made, this production employed theatrical lighting and several cameras shooting simultaneously on a specially constructed set in Buenos AiresBuenos 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...
. Tango classics alternate with Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
's score. Famed tango dancers appear onscreen in dark dances depicting passions, sorrows, and the past history of Argentina
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...
, including a war ballet, as Saura noted, "We needed a scene that would be brutal, and a ballet that would be violent and aggressive, which we don't often see in musicals. It frightened me. There was a great deal of tension on the set because some of the dancers had loved ones who had suffered during those years, and the ballet re-creates the terrible feeling of the period. Tango was shown out of competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival
1998 Cannes Film Festival
The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-24, 1998. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.- Jury :*Martin Scorsese *Alain Corneau *Chiara Mastroianni...
.
Overview
As in so many of Saura's films, the basic psychological love triangle is transplanted to a new arena, not that of Carmen nor of Lorca, but of the director of a production in Argentina that takes up a number of powerful historical themes, from the landing of many immigrants, covered by the soundtrack with Verdi's "Va, pensieroVa, pensiero
Va, pensiero is a chorus from the third act of Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, with words by Temistocle Solera, inspired by Psalm 137...
...", which recalls historical themes of rebellion and which are taken up when a danced representation of the Junta's repression is enacted.
There is less dancing than usual in Saura's films. Clearly, he has experts to work with, and the focus on the foot tracing catlike its path on the floor has the flavor of a point newly inculcated, and yet it is appropriate, and not the amateur mistake made by many dance filmmakers of concentrating the camera only on the feet or legs, which misses the whole point of the dance coming from the dancer's center.
The film caused some controversy by a lavish dance scene between Elena and Laura, that ends in a lesbian kissing scene. This was criticized by some tango fans who claimed that same sex tango, even being common, doesn't have usually a sexual connotation.
Awards
- Nominated for the 1998 Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- Nominated for the 1998 Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Language Film. - Winner of the 1998 Goya Award for Best Sound.
- Winner of the Grand Prix Technique de la CST (Vittorio Storaro) at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival1998 Cannes Film FestivalThe 51st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-24, 1998. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.- Jury :*Martin Scorsese *Alain Corneau *Chiara Mastroianni...
.