La Cara del Ángel

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La Cara del Ángel
Directed by Pablo Torre
Produced by Pablo Torre
Written by Pablo Torre
Starring Virginia Innocenti
Mario Pasik
Music by Luis María Serra
Cinematography Eduardo Pinto
Editing by Santiago Ricci
Distributed by Contracampo
Release date(s) November 1998
Running time 92 minutes
Country Flag of Argentina Argentina
Language Spanish
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

La Cara del Ángel (English: Angel Face) is an Argentine 1998 film, written and directed by Pablo Torre.[1]

The film stars Virginia Innocenti, Mario Pasik, Enrique Pinti, and others.

The director, Pablo Torre, dedicated the film to the approximately 30,000 (the numbers are contested) people who "disappeared" during Argentina's junta's regime in the mid 1970s.[2]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story takes place during the period of the ruling military junta in Argentina from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, focusing on one particular family. The story is told from the viewpoint of Nicolas, a young boy.

By mistake the mother of the family is killed by right-wing extremists because they believe she had photographed a civilian protest march and the violent suppression by a military patrol.

In fact, her twin sister actually took the pictures. She recognized its leader as the father of her nephew and she shows the pictures to her sister, who she realizes the man thought she was.

One day while the sister is out, the man shows up with his political thugs and murders the mother and then hunts for Nicolas who hides inside a large grandfather clock.

Nicolas (Mario Pasik) is soon taken by his aunt to her home in the country, where he attends the local Catholic school, where most of the children's parents are in the military.

At the school the fascist bullies and kids who are frightened by them offer a parallel to Argentina's political situation at the time.

The boys imitate their parents with dirty tricks toward a boy they call a "mixto" (born from a marriage of Jews and Christians) who they regularly beat and torment.

Nicolas develops a friendship with the mixto and confides in him about what happened to his mother.

A few years later, after the mixto has been taken away, Nicolas and the other bullies take part in the Malvinas/Falklands War.

Afterward, Nicolas settles an old, old score.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Exhibition

The film was first presented at the Mar del Plata Film Festival in November 1998. It was released wide in Argentina on June 24, 1999.

The film has been screened at various film festivals, including: the Chicago Latino Film Festival, USA; the San Diego Latino Film Festival. USA; and others.

[edit] Background

Main article: Dirty War

The film is based on the real political events that took place in Argentina after Jorge Rafael Videla's reactionary military junta assumed power in March 24, 1976. During the junta's rule: the parliament was suspended, unions, political parties and provincial governments were banned, and in what became known as the Dirty War between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing "subversives" disappeared from society.[3]

According to the Pablo Torre, the producer/director, the film is loosely based on a story written by Hans Christian Anderson. In his tale, a wolf wants to eat a family of little lambs. One day, the wolf goes into the house and eats the lambs and the smallest lamb hides in a clock and then escapes. La Cara del Ángel is adapted by Torre for a larger narrative.[4]

[edit] Cast

  • Virginia Innocenti
  • Mario Pasik as Nicolas
  • Enrique Pinti
  • Victor Moll
  • Mariano Marín
  • Facundo Garcia

[edit] Awards

Wins

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ La Cara del Ángel at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ La Cara del Ángel at All Movie Guide
  3. ^ The Vanished Gallery.
  4. ^ Privett, Ray. Interview with Pablo Torre at the Chicago Latino Film Festival, March 31, 2000.

[edit] External links

Cinema of Argentina

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