Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RECOMMENDED FILMS
Despite limited funding and v ery little
exposure, the Argentine mo vie industr y
has a prodigious output, with movies veer-
ing from slick mainstream features to grim
independent offerings and an occasional
award-winning gem in betw een. Themes
such as the breakdown of society, the dirty
war, the M alvinas war, and the sex wars
provide rich pickings for y oung cr eative
directors with little money but lots of
talent.
Maria L uisa B emberg is pr obably the
most famous of late-20th-centur y Argen-
tine filmmakers and specializ ed in period
dramas. H er
Camila
(1984) and
Miss
Mary
(1986) both deal with the feminine
experience in Argentina, with J ulie Chris-
tie starring in the latter .
The Official Story
(1985), by Luis Puenzo, and
The Night of
the Pencils
(1986), b y Hector Olivera, are
two po werful dramas about the militar y
dictatorship and ho w the r epression even
reached the nation's children.
Man Facing
Southeast
(1986) and The
Dark Side of the
Heart
(1992) ar e two compelling mo vies
by Eliseo Subiela, the former having a sci-
fi theme and the latter an intriguing lo ve
story. The Italian neorealist style of film-
making is a str ong influence in Argentine
cinema, and no where is it mor e evident
than in the movies of Pablo Trapero.
Crane
World
(1999) and
El Bonarense
(2002) are
two gritty working-class features, with the
former a star k por trait of police corr up-
tion. Another master of ev eryday themes
and deadpan comedy is Carlos Sorin.
His-
torias M inimas
(2003) and
Bombon the
Dog
(2004) deal with lo ve, life, and dogs.
For something mor e mainstream but just
as hilarious,
Tiempo de Valientes
(2008), by
Damian Szifr on, concerns two fav orite
Argentine subject matters—crime and
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by M ichelangelo Antonioni. Another
Borges-influenced writer is Ernesto Sábato,
whose
On Heroes and Tombs
is one of the
most thorough artistic expressions of B ue-
nos Aires ever written.
The Tunnel,
by the
same author, is a compelling r ead about an
obsessed painter . Less lauded abr oad but
more indicative of Argentine rural life is the
work of H oracio Q uiroga. A tragic figur e
(he committed suicide in 1937), Q uiroga's
stories are mostly set in the jungle fr ontier
of Misiones; they combine the supernatural
and bizarre to create stories that are enjoyed
by young and old alike and can be seen as a
predecessor to magical realism.
The Decapi-
tated Chicken
and
The Exiles
are both short
story collections that ar e available in E ng-
lish. A seminal book in Argentine literature
is the 19th-centur y gaucho poem
Martin
Fierro,
b y J osé H ernández, a compulsor y
read for all Argentine students.
Popular modern writers include Manuel
Puig, whose
Kiss of the S pider Woman
was
adapted into a movie of the same name. It
deals with sex and r epression using popu-
lar movies and cultural r eferences to keep
the narrativ e flo wing. P uig's backgr ound
as a screenwriter can also be seen in other
topics such as
Betrayed b y Rita H ayworth
and
Heartbreak Tango.
Osvaldo S oriano's
Shadows
and
A Funny Dirty Little War
are
popular critiques of Argentine society ,
while Federico Andahazi's
The Anatomist
is
an enter taining and some what baw dy
work of historical fiction.
For an outsider 's take on Argentine
culture, r ead
In P atagonia
b y B ruce
Chatwin, one of the most famous trav el-
ogues ever written.
Chasing Che
by Patrick
Symmes is an eloquent description of the
writer's attempt to r etrace the road trip of
the famous revolutionary. Miranda France's
Bad Times in B uenos Air es
is an ex cellent
impression of an expa's frustrating attempt
to live in Argentina. For something lighter
and mor e friv olous, r ead
Kiss and Tango,
by Marina Palmer, the war ts-and-all con-
fessions of a tango-dancing
gringa.
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psychoanalysis.
Blessed b y F ire
(2004), b y
Tristan B auer, is possibly one of the best
movies made about the F alklands War,
while grifter mo vie
Nine Q ueens
(2001),
