The Clan (2016)

Pretty Good

Let's be realistic.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

I found The Clan to be very disappointing... The story itself if very captivating and you expect it to be somewhat as gripping as you'd think. The character building is decent you begin to like and dislike certain characters quickly. I felt the fact you don't see how those whom are being held hostage are living, you actually don't see them at all besides when the Father is making them write their ransom note, makes the movie more of a drama less of a thriller. They are crying and looked beat up you also don't see any abuse. I felt like those are key points of the story and the fact they don't also build on the hostage characters makes it less intense since your less emotionally involved... Just me.

Near the end of the "Spanish Film Festival" in Perth, I saw "The Clan" which tells the story of Puccio's, a family of well off Argentinians who kidnap the wealthy for ransom and hold them in their home. Headed by menacing patriarch Arquímedes Puccio, the film is based on true events, being set between 1981 and 1985 in the aftermath of the fascist Videla regime. Arquimedes worked for the government, helping subversives "disappear", so when he was out a job, he moved onto kidnapping for profit.Helping him alongside his gang of thugs is his son, Alejandro, a rugby player whose aspirations are higher than living a life of crime.The father-son dynamic makes The Clan quite an interesting watch, setting it apart from other typical true crime dramas. I was invested in the plot and the strong acting from Guillermo Fancella and Juan Pedro Lanzani. The movie is very stylish as well, taking a page from Martin Scorsese movies, having interesting camera setups, never shying away from sex and violence, and sometimes telling the movie out of order.That said, the rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting, and are really more in the background, only having lines to forward the plot. The movie has a lot of attention paid to the kidnappings, but the formula of showing long, fluid takes that have English pop music playing in the background got a bit tiresome during the middle of the second act when it took focus away from Alejandro, and more on Arquimedes' other son, who returned home after away playing rugby. It would have also been interesting to have seen some more of Aquimedes' past, instead of it just being show in the opening, and then mentioned in passing.While it isn't the most original movie in its presentation, it's an interesting one, and a good place to start if you want to get into watching foreign-language films that are entertaining and accessible.

Introduction to the characters and setting happens on-the-fly. Which might be alright if you know the story before you watch the movie.First of all, I kept wondering why this professional and experienced kidnapper only kidnaps friends of his son. That is really obvious, he might as well turn himself in. Later(on wikipedia) I understood, that these were the first kidnappings of this kind. I assumed because he is so professional and cool about it, the whole thing seems very routine, no one in his family seems to mind, that he has done this sort of thing many times before. I understand now in retrospect that all these things come from his experience in the intelligence service. However, the movie never really explains that, although it is somewhat crucial for the story.But there are still some things that don't make sense after reading about the actual story. Arquímedes says to Alex something like "my kidnappings always worked until you left". Well, at that point he previously only had kidnapped two people with Alex, which creates even further confusion when you talk about "always". Then Alex returns the lost son, Maguila, who had apparently left because of the killings. When he returns he immediately joins his fathers business, no questions asked. That doesn't make sense, considering his father only started the killings while he was abroad.Who is Comodore? We understand that he must be some kind of government official who previously worked with Arquimedes? But then, why does he still have influence, I thought the regime has been overthrown.Without knowing the story (or at least enough about Argentinian history from that time) before watching the film, it basically shows a serial killer at his day job. Kidnap, make ransom call, write letter, kill, next one please. Sort of boring. The actual story of a former regime officer who now works on his own and the resulting struggles with his surroundings are never properly introduced.

Few years after the dictatorship in Argentina by Rafael Videla is overthrown, the remaining members of that military order begin a life of crime, using as an excuse that the Argentinians sold the country and pushed the patriots into catastrophe. At this time in history, is where the story of Arquímides Puccio (Guillermo Franchella) and his family take place. Puccio is an old retired military who starts kidnapping rich youngsters not just for the money, but to satisfy an evil mind that wants suffering. However, his five children, Alejandro (Peter Lanzani), Maguila (Gastón Cocchiarale), Silvia (Giselle Motta), Adriana (Antonia Bengoechea) and Guillermo (Franco Masini), are the ones who end up with the biggest sorrow. This brilliant movie is not a conventional crime thriller, it also explores the psychological illness of all the members in this family caused by the oppressing voice of Puccio's patriarchy. Alejandro, the brilliant and successful eldest child, is the connection between us and the pain inside the characters. The narrative of the story begins by the end, and so it goes interchanging present and future, until they collide in a sublime climax when all the feelings and thoughts of the children explode. Each one of the characters, even though they were real, are so astoundingly designed that you can feel the hate of the father; the indifference of the mother; the rage, the fear and even the love of the children. Another remarkable aspect of this movie is the BSO, featuring an accurate selection between The Kinks, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Argentinian rock of the 80's like Seru Giran and Virus. This is also a portrait of the post-dictatorship era as a fictional interpretation of the feelings of an old retired military, his new war, and his new army: his family.