Tan de repente (2002)

Director:

Diego Lerman

Writers:

César Aira (novel)
Diego Lerman (writer)

Release Date:

29 January 2003 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Road Movie | Stealing | Punk | Fat Woman

Awards:

20 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Tatiana Saphir	...	Marcia
Carla Crespo	...	Mao
Veronica Hassan	...	Lenin
Beatriz Thibaudin	...	Blanca
María Merlino	...	Delia
Marcos Ferrante	...	Felipe
Ana María Martínez	...	Ramona
Susana Pampin	...	Woman in Car
Luis Herrera	...	Truck Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laura Mantel	...	Empleada del mes

Also Known As:

Suddenly (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

90 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Canada:92 min

Country:

Argentina | Netherlands

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | USA:Not Rated | Poland:15 | Argentina:16 | Denmark:11 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Hubert Bals Fund

pointless, dull, irritating...

'Tan de repente' (Suddenly) is wrongly considered a landmark in the so-called 'New Argentine Cinema'. Who establishes those landmarks? Certainly a bunch of foreign critics and festival prize-givers with a weakness for art-house films, especially if they come from third-world (poor) countries. This one suits them perfectly; it comes from Argentina (country that has been a lot in the map recently due to its huge economic crisis), it is shot in grainy black and white, it contains some raw dialogue, a realistic though stylized look (the image treatment reminds of the superior Stranger than Paradise) and some extreme nudity. The perfect cocktail. But to be honest with it, the film is dull as a film can be and has some of the most abominable performances seen recently on screen. The unimaginative ultra-slow pace, divertive storytelling and the keenness of portraying the ugly from a low point of view doesn't help either. Lerman's film may fool a good few abroad, with its exasperating still photo of country skies, high-tension wires and rear-view mirrors, but ultimately cannot hide the director's inability to reach any standard of storytelling. It is a pity that this is the kind of argentine film commercially released internationally, for the embarrassment of argentinians abroad and the regular filmgoer.