Los debutantes (2003)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Andrés Waissbluth

Writers:

Cristián Jiménez (collaborating writer)
Julio Rojas (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 2003 (Chile)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

The story of two brothers who get involved with a sexy stripper and her boss, the nightclub king of Santiago, as told from three perspectives. Sexy, gritty, emotional.

Plot Keywords:

Stripper | Club | Nonlinear Timeline | Whipped Cream | Adultery

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Antonella Ríos	...	Gracia
Néstor Cantillana	...	Silvio
Juan Pablo Miranda	...	Victor
Alejandro Trejo	...	Don Pascual
Eduardo Barril	...	Don Marco
Roberto Farías	...	Danilo
Victor Montero	...	Marcelo
Anita Alvarado	...	Solange
Mario Poblete	...	Milico Borracho
Antonia Bravo	...	Parvularia
Arturo Ruiz Tagle	...	Animador Parrilladas
Angel	...	Bailarina 1
Francisca Castro	...	Bailarina Milico
Isabel Santelices	...	Puta Milico
Alan Ramirez	...	Rodrigo Munoz

Also Known As:

The Debutantes (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Chile

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Santiago, Chile

Trivia:

It took the makers of this film seven years to complete the project, during which time over a dozen scripts (including chronological) were used.

Soundtrack:

Amores Incompletos

Pretty good erotic film noir.

Los Debutantes is the story of two orphaned brothers who have moved to Santiago from the South after their mother dies. The confident and streetwise Silvio, the elder brother, gets a job working for a sleazy strip club's owner after taking the naive Victor there for his 17th birthday.

As Silvio blossoms under his boss's tutelage, both brothers get involved with the owner's sexy and manipulative mistress, Gracia. As the film unfolds, characters are redefined as we begin to see the subtle and overt ways that each one manipulates the next.

The film is well made, with good cinematography and fast pacing. It's also pretty sexy, with a lot of nudity and some fairly explicit sex scenes. It uses the now-popular technique of layering different scenes from different points of view, out of chronological sequence. Many people hate movies like this because they don't understand what's going on - Memento, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and many other good films use this device. The plot itself is really nothing new, there are elements of Body Heat, Pulp Fiction, and many other good film noir.

As the different layers are revealed, our understandings of the characters and their motivations evolve. While the plot may be somewhat cliché, it is also clever and entertaining.

I would call it an enjoyable movie, worth watching, but nothing memorable. I haven't seen many films from Chile, and it's always interesting to see film noir from other countries. Other than that, rent it if it's available but don't lose any sleep if it isn't.