“Argentina” – Better than the film [MOVIE REVIEW]
Carlos Saura, the renowned Spanish filmmaker now in his mid 80s, has focused his lens on the folk dances of Argentina, much like he has done with the Flamenco, tango and fado music cultures. Enamored of the folk tradition of the Argentine countryside he has gathered together a group of popular folksingers, musicians and dancers to impart a flavor of these arts as practiced from the Pampas to Patagonia and beyond. Filmed dramatically in high definition, with an emphasis of light against shadow and a saturated color palate, Argentinian Félix Monti shows himself to be a masterful cinematographer able to frame and capture dance as it should be and usually isn’t. Though the dancers dance beautifully, the singers sing melodically and the musicians play soulfully, it is all without meaning, like one seamless but context-free concert on a bare stage. Songs are captioned on screen when, perhaps, it would have been better to have allowed the agony expressed in some of the songs to go without the literal translations that are truly wince-worthy and tone-deaf. Literal translation usually misses the beauty, favoring instead the words, and always misses the nuance. It might have been better to…
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