El Clan

Few years after the dictatorship in Argentina by Rafael Videla is overthrown, the remaining members of that military order begin a life of crime, using as an excuse that the Argentinians sold the country and pushed the patriots into catastrophe. At this time in history, is where the story of Arquímides Puccio (Guillermo Franchella) and his family take place. Puccio is an old retired military who starts kidnapping rich youngsters not just for the money, but to satisfy an evil mind that wants suffering. However, his five children, Alejandro (Peter Lanzani), Maguila (Gastón Cocchiarale), Silvia (Giselle Motta), Adriana (Antonia Bengoechea) and Guillermo (Franco Masini), are the ones who end up with the biggest sorrow. This brilliant movie is not a conventional crime thriller, it also explores the psychological illness of all the members in this family caused by the oppressing voice of Puccio's patriarchy. Alejandro, the brilliant and successful eldest child, is the connection between us and the pain inside the characters. The narrative of the story begins by the end, and so it goes interchanging present and future, until they collide in a sublime climax when all the feelings and thoughts of the children explode. Each one of the characters, even though they were real, are so astoundingly designed that you can feel the hate of the father; the indifference of the mother; the rage, the fear and even the love of the children. Another remarkable aspect of this movie is the BSO, featuring an accurate selection between The Kinks, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Argentinian rock of the 80's like Seru Giran and Virus. This is also a portrait of the post-dictatorship era as a fictional interpretation of the feelings of an old retired military, his new war, and his new army: his family.

A few years back, I was advising a Francophile mate of the virtues of the wonderful French comedy, The Intouchables. I mentioned also that the subtitling was superb. 'How would you know?' he asked, aware that I had but a smattering of schoolboy French. I explained that the grammar and syntax was perfect, and colloquialisms clearly caught the spirit of the piece - you simply forgot you were reading script, allowing you to concentrate on the visuals.

Sadly, the taut Argentine crime thriller,The Clan, looks as if it's been subtitled by a dyslexic alcoholic using Google translate. It was extremely frustrating. I was clearly watching a very well made film, based on real events, about a Mafiosa-style family engaged in kidnapping and extortion; this was at a time, the 1980s, when the government was up to similar tactics - many dissidents simply disappeared. Keeping Police and officials sweet, the family could act with near impunity.

Everything about the film - its story, pacing, acting, direction was top notch. But the constantly poor subtitling proved too great a distraction and detracted from the film itself.

I can recommend the film without hesitation to any fluent Spanish speakers among you.

My wife and I saw this film at the Louisiana Film Festival last night not knowing what to expect. Before I go on, my wife and I have totally different views and tastes when it comes to the art of film but this time we both came out of "El Clan" pretty satisfied. This film started off pretty slow but did get a little more riveting as it went on. There really were no big surprises or twists in this film. It was pretty much straight forward but got more interesting as the film went on. The story is simple; The Puccio Family, who is a model family on the outside, is a family that is in the business of kidnapping rich people for money and then killing them. Arquimedes Puccio (Guillermo Francella) is a respectable store owner who has an adoring wife and five respectable kids but all of this is a front for what they really do, simple but good. The acting in this film was great, especially from Guillermo Francella who played the part of Arquimedes Puccio, the totalitarian leader of "El Clan". The program director for the film festival mentioned, because this film didn't win or get a nomination for the foreign film category at the Oscars, Twentieth Century Fox decided to drop it, which is a shame because it's actually a decent film. I had no regrets seeing it.

This is a fun little movie. Watching it is truly an experience. Knowing that it is based on a true story really blows the mind!! Wow! Completely crazy story.

Really well made and superbly acted. This is a cracking little movie!!

I was so excited when I heard this movie was released in Argentina that the anticipation to watch it felt like watching the final of the World Cup. And, as it also so often happens with World Cup finals, the movie was disappointing. I am not sure where and why it failed to capture my attention, but I just know that even though the story has potential, the movie is directed in a way that feels rather boring. I know that El Clan has become the most successful movie in Argentinian history, but it is a title it does not deserve. The movie is very average and possibly only matters because it is based on true events that caused a stir not that many years ago. For lovers of real event movies.