El lado oscuro del corazón (1992)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Eliseo Subiela

Writers:

Mario Benedetti (poems)
Juan Gelman (poems)

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Plot:

Oliveiro is a young poet living in Buenos Aires where sometimes he has to sale his ideas to an advertising...

Awards:

11 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Darío Grandinetti	...	Oliverio
Sandra Ballesteros	...	Ana
Nacha Guevara	...	La Muerte (Death)
André Mélançon	...	Erik
Jean Pierre Reguerraz	...	Gustavo
Mónica Galán	...	La ex esposa
Inés Vernengo	...	La ciega
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marisa Aguilera	...	Bigotuda
Hugo Arana
Mariana Baranchuk	...	Amiga Ana
Claudia Bedacarratz	...	Mendiga
Mario Benedetti	...	Poeta Aleman
Jesús Berenguer	...	Publicitario 1
Pablo Brichta	...	Novio
Silvina Chaine	...	Mujeres cabaret
Marcela Criquet	...	Mujer Disco
Dalila	...	Singer in the Subway
Jorge Del Castilo	...	Policía
Jorge Dória	...	Librero
Leonor Evelson	...	Strip tease
Diana Farias	...	Mujeres cabaret
Zacarias Ferrarotti	...	Ayudante parrillero
José Luis García Espina	...	Publicitario 2
Luis Gianneo	...	Empleado hotel
Carlos Gorriarena
Delfina Grau	...	Mujer dormida
Tito Haas	...	Parrillero
Lara Jadur	...	Niño mendigos
Pablo Jadur	...	Niño mendigos
Natalia Jesimczuk	...	Novia
Jorge Lanata
Diego Leske	...	Abogado
Grecia Levy	...	Mujeres cabaret
Juan Leyrado
Marta Machado	...	Cajera banco
Karina Meroni	...	Novia parrillero
Mora Moglia	...	Mujer auto
Miriam Moyano
Santiago Mugnani	...	Joven con muerte
Helena Nessi	...	Mujeres cabaret
Miriam Odorica	...	Mujer 1
Cecilia Ortelli	...	Mujeres cabaret
Graciela Pascual	...	Correntina
Adriana Pérez	...	Mujer del final
María Laura Reigosa	...	Mujer aerobismo
Carmen Renard	...	Mujer pensión
Paco Rey	...	Mozo corazón
Ana Rossi	...	Mujeres cabaret
Chela Ruíz
Maria Elena Sagrera	...	Madre ciega
Salvador Sammaritano
Violeta Scarponi	...	Empleada Ferry
Adriana Schettini	...	Periodista
Miguel Ángel Solá
Walter Soubrie	...	Vendedor
Santiago Subiela	...	Niño mendigo
Ezequiel Tabarex	...	Niño con muerte
Ernesto Torchia	...	Cliente 2 (as Ernesto Torquia)
Jackie Tyrrell	...	Cliente 1
Déborah Vidret	...	Mujeres cabaret
Elvira Villarino	...	Mujeres cabaret
Néstor Zacco	...	Ejecutivo agencia

Also Known As:

The Dark Side of the Heart (Canada: English title) (USA)
Heart's Dark Side
Le côté obscur du coeur (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

Argentina | Canada

Language:

Spanish | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Canada:R | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | France:U | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

CQ3 Films

Trivia:

This Argentina's official selection for the 1992 Oscar Awards, Foreign Language film category. When the Oscar nominations came out it was overlooked in favor of Un Lugar en el mundo (1992) (A Place in the World) which was later the only film in Academy Awards history to have been removed from the final ballot.

Movie Connections:

Followed by El lado oscuro del corazón 2 (2001)

Soundtrack:

The Blue Danube

Death and the poet

If not for anything else, Eliseo Subiela's "El lado oscuro del corazon" will introduce the casual viewer to the poetry of Mario Benedetti, Juan Gelman, Oliverio Girondo as well as the director's own compositions. Eliseo Subiela is one of the best Argentine directors of all times, as this 1992 film clearly demonstrates.

Oliverio, the taciturn man we meet at the beginning of the film, takes us on a trip to Montevideo where, one night, he meets the exotic Ana in a night club where prostitutes gather. It's clear the mutual attraction Oliverio and Ana feel toward one another the moment they set their eyes on each other. It appears that, at last, Oliverio has found the elusive woman who can fly with him. These two souls make love, but Ana, being a hooker, reminds Oliverio his time is up. What is even better, Oliverio, an amateur poet, meets his match in Ana, who loves and knows the texts he recites to her as a way of introduction.

Oliverio has had his share of lovers. We see him making love to beautiful women, but none of them qualify as the one to fulfill his life. In a comic touch, Oliverio's bed is divided in two and when he finds a woman is not for him, he rings a bell in the night table and the other half of the bed opens up and the victim falls to an abyss.

In order to survive, Oliverio free lances as well as write poetry which he and his two buddies, Erik and Gustavo trade for food to the friendly restaurant owner who loves to recite the poems to his fiancée. Oliverio is seen walking at night, as well as when he travels to Montevideo when he feels the urge to see Ana, and has long debates with a woman clad in black who is Death personified.

One thing is clear, Oliverio can't have Ana, as she cleverly reminds him. Ana can't afford to be too generous with anyone. Ana obviously loves Oliverio, but she has other priorities that are only revealed at the end of the film. One of the best sequences in the film involves an erotic art exhibit by Erik that is not to be believed.

Dario Grandinetti, the great Argentine actor, plays Oliverio with equal parts of charm and mystery. Mr. Grandinetti makes an invaluable contribution to the success of the film. He is the main reason for watching this forgotten film that is full of poetry and magic. Sandra Ballesteros is seen as Ana. Ms. Ballesteros is an equal match to Mr. Grandinetti. Nacha Guevara plays Death with panache. Ms. Guevara, who is one of the best cabaret and performance artists of Argentina, is a huge talent that Mr. Subiela utilizes to the best results in the movie. As Oliverio's buddies, Andre Melancon and Jean Pierre Reguerraz are perfect.

The popular music by Mario Clavel, Osvaldo Montes, Chico Novarro and Fito Paez blend perfectly in the movie's atmosphere. The dark cinematography by Hugo Colace adds another dimension in our enjoyment of the film. Ultimately, this is Eliseo Subiela's triumph in a movie that is not only beautiful to look at, but to listen to the great poetry the director brings to it for our pleasure.