Tango (1998)

Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This movie is one filled with rich artistic value as it contains much dancing and very elegant stage setups. The storyline is one filled with romance and lustfulness which revolves around the main character, his ex-girlfriend, and a young dancer. Therefore, if a viewer is not interested in such aspects, the movie is kind of slow. However, there is reason to recognize the beauty and creativity of many of the scenes in which elegant and complex dances are demonstrated in differently colored and arranged stages. On another note, at times it was a bit confusing to recognize whether a scene was portraying what was going on in the main character's mind or if indeed it was part of the story. In the end however, it felt as if there was no real need to distinguish these scenes as it was all so scattered and spontaneous.

This is a visually stunning film which is a reflection on Argentina and its history, film-making, the connections between the past and the future, and of course Argentina's great tradition of dance. To bring it all together and make it personal, the through-line concerns a film director's budding romance with a young dancer he has discovered following his traumatic split with a legendary dancer. But that's one element of the film only, and not necessarily its most important element. The film tells us of Argentine history, the prevalence, and even the reemergence of its archetypal themes through the generations, romance, passion, freedom, repression, violence, hope--all told in the language of the tango.The cinematography is first-rate, the overlapping narrative elements (the love story, the story of film-making and its struggles, the story of Argentina in the 20th century, and the story of dance itself) is engaging. But the real reason to see this film is the dancing, which is quite simply stunning. Among the cast are dancers legendary not only in Argentina, but across the world. Mia Maestro, who plays the young up-and-coming dancer, has the exhilarating but probably terrifying job of dancing among all these professionals. While her own dance training is not as extensive as the men and women she dances with, however, she does a really wonderful job in her own dancing scenes--and only someone with significant dance experience will be able to spot the differences between her and the professional dancers.In some ways, though, even these differences make sense in the context of the story. Elena is the young dancer, and part of the drama that Saura presents is her own evolution in the tango. As she learns more, she becomes more alive to her history and her identity. Her dancing deepens throughout the film.And if you don't want to learn to dance the Argentine tango after you have seen this film, then you have no soul. Many thumbs up!

Tango, the most sensual dance in the world, is one of the hardest things to capture by people that haven't experienced it first hand, as seems to be the case with the distinguished Spanish director, Carlos Saura. This 1998 film, in spite of its best intentions, feels flat, even to the unexperienced eye.To make matters worse, Carlos Saura wrote a screen play that feels empty. Not even some of the inspired dance numbers lift this movie from the plot the director wrote. The story behind the film seems false from the start. It doesn't help that most of it seems superficial and contrived. The way the film was filmed, feels claustrophobic since it all takes place in as studio set. The film would have been more enjoyable if Mr. Saura had opened the film and brought it out to the districts of Buenos Aires where the tango reigns supreme.Miguel Angel Sola, a good actor from Argentina, is seen as Mario, Mr. Saura's alter ego, perhaps, since he plays the director of the film going to production. Cecilia Narova, Mia Maestro, Sandra Ballesteros, Juan Luis Galiardo are seen in supporting roles. Juan Carlos Copes, a great dancer of the tango is seen in the film, as well as Julio Bocca, one of the best classical dancers from that country.

This big failure is one of the worst and arrogant movies ever produced. People should realize that in Argentina the film was repudiated by both the audience and the public.Tango produced much, much better movies.Carlos Saura, Lalo Schiffrin and Vittorio Storaro made good films... but this is their worst. A superficial look at an Argentinean phenomenon. The whole story... there is no story: it is a superficial view of the Buenos Aires music produced by executives with a complete ignorance of the issue.Frankly, this film should be shelved and never exhibited again.