Naked Tango

Almost 10 years ago, it happened one night that I got into the theater ( a kind of B-movie theater of double feature ) in the back street of Seoul in Korea. I didn't even know the title of this film when I bought the ticket. Now I am studying film in Art School in San Francisco and still remember the powerful imagery and storytelling of the film. This film shaked my fundamental concept of the film itself and it still gives me the energetic interaction of the very unique aesthetics and visual ecstacy. I could not forget the night of watching this film still now. I think Hector Babenco should adore this film.

Amazing. What struck me right from the start was the intense use of rich colour and brooding shade. The camera seems to leer through a fish-like, distorted lens at times. The story itself is very dynamic, with frequent turns and revolutions in the plot. The creators have used an ingenious blend of futuristic, and what seems to me to be late nineteenth/early twentieth century set and costume, so we are left wondering exactly when and where this story is set. By turns bloody, beautiful, outrageous, mysterious, dark and passionate, this is a very stirring film. The tension and attraction between the protagonists is so palpable it seems to tear up the screen! The final showdown in the abattoir is a cinematic crescendo, putting it politely. I rate this film most highly because it is a classic example of what a director can do when they really let their imagination run wild.

To me, Naked Tango is the dance portrayed as a film. The intensity, brutality, cold and yet seductive passion between the `dancers' and the camera left me drawn to the pain and pleasure. I saw the blood as the rose, the actors as the dancers and the viewers as spectators (where we are part of the film). Defiantly a film that gets tattooed on the brain!

This movie does not have any special or original plot, acting is just average. There's some nice camera work and colored-lights usage, but that would be it. But the thing is, that this movie captures all that tango is. The movie is raw, erotic, sometimes vulgar. It is the only movie (as far as I've seen) that captures the essence of tango so very good. The knife fights are choreographed with tango steps, and are made sensual and erotic just as it is described in original tango songs. Cholo is a perfect compadrito, hoodlum from Buenos Aires, pimp, killer. Dance choreographies are nothing special, so if you're into that, I would rather recommend Saura's "Tango" or Potter's "Tango Lesson". But I would recommend this movie to fans of tango because it truly captures the atmosphere of Buenos Aires suburbia, how it was, when tango was danced by it's makers, whores and killers. I would give it 8/10 for atmosphere, but 5/10 for the rest. In the end, it's worth a look.

Cheers.

In spite of a strong cast, including the very talented Fernando Rey, and sumptuous settings, this movie is simply a pretentious failure. The story revolves around the sado-masochistic relation between a hoodlum and a hapless woman, the latter abducted into forced prostitution in Argentina. There is surprisingly little eroticism in this movie, even with the presence of the ever lovely, and ever nude, Ms. May. The ill-fated couple tango their way to romance, but the utter lack of chemistry between D'Onofrio and May, compunded by a poorly scripted story line, strains the viewer's credulity. I admire Mr. Schraders' work in other films, but this one was definitely off-the-mark. The video is hard to find but it is most assuredly not a lost masterpiece.