When Evil Lurks - 2023 - Argentina

When Evil Lurks - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - Cuando Acecha la Maldad

 
“Evil likes children, and children like evil.”
Two brothers investigate and find a dismembered corpse, weird instruments nearby.
A fellow farmer blames a family of squatters, who have brought “the rotten” with them.
Indeed, the male inside is extraordinarily ill, yet he refuses to die.
Killing him would be a calamity, it must be done a special way, with weird instruments.
After simmering for thirty minutes, this Argentinian horror takes off.
So much is elaborated on: have outsiders brought the disease, or the government?
Voices and arguments constantly jumble together, making it difficult for lead characters to focus.
Finally, the narrative hones in on the one who is unreliable, undependable, hot-headed, distracted.
Modern horror mirrors modern times, where fear impairs judgment.

Close Your Eyes - 2023 - Spain

Close Your Eyes - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Cerrar los Ojos

 
While working on “The Farewell Gaze”, the movie that was never finished, the lead actor simply disappeared.
Decades later, a popular “missing persons” show hires to old director to try and find the actor.
After all, there was never a corpse found.  Conspiracy theorists have flourished.
The quest into forgotten paths pulls him and the viewer along.

 
Film is beautifully lensed, quietly acted, and the bookends are magical.
(One wishes the abandoned “Farewell Gaze” was available.)
There is leisurely paced, and there is plodding.  This is agonizingly slow.
Sluggish, and overlong.  The narrative is not that rich, nor are the characters.
Arthouse cinema – know thyself.

Never Open That Door - 1952 - Argentina

Never Open That Door - 1952 - 7/10
AKA - No Abras Nunca Esa Puerta

Two Cornell Woolrich stories of greed and allegiance.
Louisa is in trouble, of her own making, and is being squeezed by dangerous creditors.

 
Who can help her?  Maybe her brother, Raúl.  Their relationship seems more than cozy.
She confides nothing, however, and he can only assume.
In the second half, blind mother Rosa has not heard from son Daniel in eight years.
Hopefully, he has done well in the big city.
When he shows up, pursued and hardened, she realizes he has not led a righteous life.

 
Stylish Noir from Argentina is saturated in blacks and carved in shadows.
Both stories deal in Fate and bad hands, which is what most of us receive.
You play as best as you can and pray for a break.

Hardly A Criminal - 1946 - Argentina

Hardly A Criminal - 1946 - 6/10
AKA - Apenas un Delincuente

 
Even as a boy, Moran had been impatient.
Later, a man who favored expensive suits, nightclubs and horse races.
He could not afford the wardrobe, nor the cabaret.  And his horse picks were all nags.
Worse, the loan sharks are hounding him.
Moran works in the bank, however, and embezzlement proves an easy out.
Even after he is caught, sentenced to prison, he has a plan.
All it requires is patience.
Yet, Moran has always been impatient.
Outstanding Argentinian Noir.  (Wikipedia plot summary inaccurate)

The Black Vampire - 1953 - Argentina

The Black Vampire - 1953 - 6/10
AKA - El Vampiro Negro

 
No bats, no bloodsuckers in this imaginatively shot Argentinian Noir.
Another child victim surfaces, and the police arrest the man who finds the body and notifies them.
The cops know he is innocent, yet public panic surges as more children are killed.
Innovative retelling of M, adds a low-life nightclub, possibly dealing narcotics.
Chief prosecutor is inflexible and self-righteous, not one for leniency or compassion.
The Underworld in this outing is the Subterranean world: homeless, castoffs, scavengers, beggars.
One cam view this for the cinematography alone.

The Beast Must Die - 1952 - Argentina

The Beast Must Die - 1952 - 7/10  
AKA - La Bestia Debe Morir

 
Beast being the repulsive Jorge Rattery, who dies in the opening sequence.
Roundly hated by all, he beats his wife, smacks her son around, repeatedly tries to rape his sister-in-law, cheats his business partner, as well as sleeps with the partner’s wife, AND tells the wife she is looking old.
Then there is Felix, visiting crime novelist, whose diary reveals he intended to murder Jorge!
Yes, an overload of suspects.
Argentinean Noir suffers from opening histrionics, melodramatic acting, but settles following the death.
Mind you, most of the females remain fiery and explosive.
Nonetheless, this is Felix’s story all the way.
A bitter, sad, soil-boil of revenge.
Pristine restoration by Film Noir Foundation.  Remade as Que la Bete Meure (1969).

Resurrection - 2015 - Argentina

Resurrection -  2015 - 6/10
AKA - Resurrección

Newly ordained priest Aparicio decides he is more needed in Buenos Aires, plagued by Yellow Fever.
Enroute, he decides to detour to his family estate, discovering it all but derelict and abandoned.

 
His brother remains, dying on his deathbed.  His sister-in-law and niece hide in the chapel, terrified.
One servant, taciturn Quispe, tries to warn / assist Aparcio, tend to the family.
Viewers quickly realize the house is beyond healing, beyond redemption.
A slow burn tale of faith, judgment, evil, and the weakness of men.
Perhaps better for those who appreciate the insidiousness of Lucifer, the whisperer of lies.
Few believe in evil nowadays, despite what they witness daily.

Official Competition - 2021 - Spain

Official Competition - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Competencia Oficial

 
The fabulously rich man realizes he has left no mark other than wealth accumulation.
He decides to finance a movie.  A prestige film.  Arthouse.  With the very best talent.
The director is controversial, award-winning, difficult, unpredictable.
She requests two leads:  the premier actor, and biggest “star”.
Then the rehearsals.  Where tsunami sized egos begin to clash.
Much is exaggerated to absurd lengths.  Personalities and situations.
Entertaining comedy, packed with in-jokes for cinema buffs and theatre players.
That is a liability, however, as only a select audience with “get this”.

Apartment Zero - 1988 - UK

Apartment Zero - 1988 - 7/10

 
Adrian rents out a room to help pay mounting debts.
He owns and operates an arthouse movie theatre in Buenos Ares, ticket sales are minimal.
New tenant Jack is handsome, carries himself with dash, and is a social mixer.
Adrian is drawn to Jack, though it is uncertain whether this is loneliness or homosexual in nature.
What else?  Adrian’s mother was insane and the condition may be hereditary.
Oh, and a string of serial murders are plaguing the city!
Early on, I tried to connect Adrian’s political activist employee and the killings, but that was slippery.
Equal parts disturbing character study and psychological thriller.
Intense performance by a young Colin Firth.

Wild Tales - 2006 - Spain

Wild Tales - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Relatos Salvajes

 
From Spain and Argentina, six films of vengeance or conflict.
Films vary considerably in quality and enjoyment, and the above is an overall score.  Anthology front loaded with the best and funniest in the first half.
The opening flight cabin sequence is brilliant and laugh out loud as it develops.
The next one about a loan shark, a barely open diner, and rat poison was good.
Then two drivers dueling along a lonely stretch of highway.  Great fun.

 
Next three less savage, with little to no humor.
Angry man vs a tow truck company.
Hit n run driver and a dead mother and infant.
Wedding reception meltdown.

First three - Yes!
Last three - You have been warned.

The Headless Woman - 2008 - Argentina

The Headless Woman - 2008 - 5/10
AKA - La Mujer Sin Cabeza

In spite of a title like that, I knew what I was heading into with this Argentinian drama.
While driving home, a woman’s cellphone rings. So, of course …
She strikes something. She sees a shape back on the road, but is too shaken to investigate. Instead, returns home, dazed.
Her world is filled with dozens of relatives. Husband, brother, male cousins, females, children.
A “close” and confusing family. Close, as in a quickie with a male cousin, a female niece with lesbian tendencies.
Minor characters such as doctors, gardeners, patients, random neighbors wander into the scene, disappear.
Confused? Yeah, so was our heroine. a meandering Virginia Woolf caricature.
Rich enough to suffer a guilt complex without facing any consequences.
Many viewed this as a thriller, symbolizing society’s refusal to accept responsibility. Others felt it a snooze.
Arthouse crowd was, not surprisingly, divided about this.

El Critico - 2013 - Argentina

El Critico - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - The Film Critic

The plight of the film critic. Forced to watch an unhealthy diet of pap, pretension, redundancy, stupidity.
No wonder our critic in this Argentina film is negative, cynical, and single.
He is being allowed to squat in his apartment which is being razed, and may soon be homeless.
Then he finds the perfect apartment! Except a woman has beaten him to the lease.
What ensues, to his disgust, is attraction, squabbling, soaring violins, breathless kisses, running.
He is trapped as a romantic comedy cliché.
El Critico, a rather uncertain comedy, will be better suited to viewers who are familiar with the RomCom genre and the obligatory tropes.

La Antena - 2007 - Argentina

La Antena - 2007 - 7/10

Silent cinema continues to flourish, this time from Argentina.
In the metropolis, the citizens have lost their voice. Literally.
Only one individual still has the ability, the mysterious singer, The Voice, her face shrouded in deep black.

The city is controlled and dominated by Mr TV, who owns the silent broadcasts, food, buildings, and enforcers.
Typical of megalomaniacs, he wants still more.
Heavy on German Expressionism and UFA films, experienced viewers will catch Russian elements, as well as modern cinema such as City Of Lost Children.

Visuals in this will be a feast for Silent film buffs, spotting homages and sly references.
The narrative, while simple, seems increasingly relevant to current distracted humanity.
Highly inventive and also fun to watch!

Aterrados - 2017 - Argentina

Aterrados - 2017 - 7/10
AKA - Terrified

Enjoyment of this may depend on ones suspension of disbelief, or suspension of logic.
Within five minutes, you realize this house is haunted.
Yet the homeowners, and adjoining neighbor, close their eyes or pull the sheet over their heads.
The “presence” is not a friendly spirit.
This prologue sets the stage for the paranormal crew, experts with tech gear.
Film has a forbidding, claustrophobic tension throughout.
Limited backstory, though I accepted the segmented theory suggested by one.
Score based on how well done this is, though characters’ common sense is negative.