I just watched "Tango, un giro extraño", written and directed by Mercedes García Guevara. Great film. I enjoyed it immensely from start to finish. It has an interesting story line that helps people like me reach a deeper understanding of tango and what it means to many of its devoted followers. If you are as ignorant as I was about what tango is, please do yourself a favor and watch this film.
The cinematography was sumptuous and well thought out, creatively moving from moody indoor scenes rich in visual textures to street scenes that made me want to hop on a plane and visit Buenos Aires right away. It looks like an exciting city if you have an appreciation of architectural / textural / city art in its various unsanitized forms. But, this is not a tourist film. It's about art. It's about life. And most of all, it's about tango ... and that's where it keeps its focus on tango.
The dance scenes were a wonderful blend of young, not so young and older dancers, which for me reinforced the tapestry of life in which we start out knowing nothing. But with some effort and a bit of luck, life can be fulfilling, no matter what our financial situation. The musicians and dancers seemingly have already figured this out and have found their joy in tango, which will be obvious to anyone who watches this film. One of the dance scenes, which I keep replaying it in my mind, is beautifully haunting.
I saved the best for last. The music was terrific, and it was artfully blended into the film in such a way that it kept all the various scenes flowing from one to the next - sometimes gently, sometimes with much gusto, always in an interesting manner. The film itself was for me a great combination of education and artistic high entertainment. What better way to spend an evening? If you are a lover of art and life itself, I highly recommend that you see this lovely film.
Bravo Ms. Guevara!
The cinematography was sumptuous and well thought out, creatively moving from moody indoor scenes rich in visual textures to street scenes that made me want to hop on a plane and visit Buenos Aires right away. It looks like an exciting city if you have an appreciation of architectural / textural / city art in its various unsanitized forms. But, this is not a tourist film. It's about art. It's about life. And most of all, it's about tango ... and that's where it keeps its focus on tango.
The dance scenes were a wonderful blend of young, not so young and older dancers, which for me reinforced the tapestry of life in which we start out knowing nothing. But with some effort and a bit of luck, life can be fulfilling, no matter what our financial situation. The musicians and dancers seemingly have already figured this out and have found their joy in tango, which will be obvious to anyone who watches this film. One of the dance scenes, which I keep replaying it in my mind, is beautifully haunting.
I saved the best for last. The music was terrific, and it was artfully blended into the film in such a way that it kept all the various scenes flowing from one to the next - sometimes gently, sometimes with much gusto, always in an interesting manner. The film itself was for me a great combination of education and artistic high entertainment. What better way to spend an evening? If you are a lover of art and life itself, I highly recommend that you see this lovely film.
Bravo Ms. Guevara!