jruvira

Is 'Rancho aparte' a comedy? Yes, it is. A ridiculously funny movie to see. Is 'Rancho aparte' a drama? It also is. Will it make you cry? I don't think so, but 'Rancho aparte' will make you wonder who's right and who's not.

I'm really tired to watch Argentine movies based in Buenos Aires. Even movies located far away from the country's capital have a 'porteño' idiosyncrasy. I remember watching "La ciénaga", located in Salta but the main characters speaking in Buenos Aires' accent. 'Rancho aparte' is performed by Buenos Aires actors, but they took the basic courtesy of learning the accent of rural San Luis, a not-so-geographically-remote Argentine province. That simple detail is, for me, a great homage to the people the movie's characters represent. That's respect.

'Rancho aparte' features an almost unbearable crash between modern-urban life and the not-so-visible lives of those who live in extreme material poverty on the countryside, far away from comfort, technology and the public eye. We never hear of them in the news but for catastrophic rains, floods of draughts. We're never told who they are, and even then we share the same nationality. When you hear the term "argentino" in Buenos Aires media, you must understand "porteño", for being Argentine is a little more complex than that.

Having said that, this movie's point is to leave you wondering who's right when, in fact, they're both right and they're both wrong. Or maybe nobody has a definite answer: there's no need to be right or wrong all the time. The grey spots of life.

What would you think about someone who, being able to push a button and turn on a light bulb for the first time, prefers to stick to his old -but known to be a certain way to light up a room- candle? Would you think that person is an animal, would you say he is culturally behind you? The candle works for this man, why should he choose the light bulb, something he didn't know he needed? It's funny to see ancient empires documentaries: the luxury, the comfort, the pleasures of those big cities. They had no cars, no toilets, no mobile phones, no freezers, but they lived to the top of comfort of their time. Our grandsons will laugh and won't believe the uncomfortable way we currently live in... Who will be right then? Us or them?

'Rancho aparte' will, for the open-hearted, propose a chance to put things you now give for granted, at doubt. Should movies be able to change the world, this would be a good starting point towards cultural integration and common identity. We all share the basics, it's our environment what builds the differences.

The technical aspects are generally well crafted. Artistically, the performances are exquisite -especially so for the female characters. You don't need to know this movie is based on a theatrical play beforehand: you notice it just a few minutes after the beginning. Luckily, the language is not theatrical, what gives more credibility to the movie: you feel you're spying on them rather than sitting in front of a stage.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Do you enjoy being transported to the scene? If you answer 'yes, I like to be transported to -say- Wonderland', then you should go somewhere else. This movie develops in the painful, ordinary, real world. Most people will find this movie annoying and somewhat boring. Some of us will regard it as an experience on its own. Rubén's some minister's minder, a bodyguard. His own life must leave room, be replaced by minister's. His life revolves around the minister, must follow him everywhere he goes, must wait for him while he's at work. Does nothing but waiting for him, reminding us of some kind of dog provided with some sort of self-awareness, feeling how left aside he is. His life's worth nothing. And that's where the point of the movie is. The goal is to make you experience his life, to share a piece of such empty existence. Julio Chávez (Rubén, the bodyguard) is a superb actor. I'm impressed by his ability to perform with everything except words. He doesn't need to talk to transmit feelings. And I've recently seen him on stage performing a word-based comedy, and he proved -to me- to be extremely ductile and flexible. He uses every "tool" available for his performance. You're warned. This movie deserves a 9 out of 10 for performance, 9 out of 10 in terms of psychological study. The only thing I didn't like is the final twist of the story. The rest is quite enjoyable. Julio Chávez... you're awesome!