Tanghi argentini (2006)

An office clerk with a hankering to tango enlists the support of a workplace colleague as he prepares for a date. It's Christmas time and the concept of giving assumes fairy tale proportions in this beguiling modern story.

Director:

Guy Thys

Writer:

Geert Verbanck (screenplay)

Stars:

Dirk van Dijck, Koen van Impe, Wannes Cappelle

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dirk van Dijck	...	André
Koen van Impe	...	Frans
Wannes Cappelle	...	Patrick
Ineke Nijssen	...	Gaby
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hilde Norga	...	Suzanne
Mathias Sercu	...	Elves

Storyline

A few weeks before Christmas, André, a chubby middle-aged office worker in Ghent, arranges an Internet date with a woman who tangos. Trouble is, André doesn't know how to dance, so he begs Frans, a co-worker, to teach him. Frans refuses - he's a superior type, proper, erect, immaculately, separate from the others, while Andre is a bit of a shlub. André calls Frans's bluff, calling him boring and staid, so Frans accepts the challenge. They practice long hours; the passion of the tango infuses André and when the night comes, he's ready. Frans accompanies him to a nightclub where he meets Suzanne. She and André begin to dance. Then, something goes wrong. Is this all for naught?

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Plot Keywords:

tango | office | dance | christmas | passion | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

15 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Argentiniko tango

Company Credits

Production Co:

Another Dimension of an Idea, Dreams in Motion, VAF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

14 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films: Live Action (2008)

User Reviews

A Totally Satisfying Short

I caught this on You Tube only because I'm a tango nut and I'm grateful I did. What a fabulous little film! What an amazingly wonderful quarter of an hour!

Sly, charming, witty, elegant, uplifting: the film totally blew me away. I've watched -- and been sorely disappointed by -- a lot of shorts over the past few months (not that there aren't superb ones out there as well). "Tanghi Argentini" not only restored my faith after a run of poor ones, but ranked right near the top of the Best of the Best.

Both its writing and the directing are terrific. The story is beautifully developed, and loaded with surprises. It toys with our internalization of tropes developed not only by Sally Potter and Masayuki Suo but television, then turns most of them on their heads.

The mise-en-scene betrays no suggestion of a tight budget and the film is very cleverly shot, making the best of some rather close quarters. The editing is appropriately crisp and the film bustles along. The cast is exceptional.

I pray that "Tanghi Argentini" makes it to a decent DVD collection so that many others can see it.