Summary:
It is an ingenious mockumentary (false documentary) that scathingly addresses Francophilia and other aspects of the entire Buenos Aires economic and political elite of the Generation of 80 and accommodates a wide series of historical and cultural facts of the time based on a theory conspiracy based on the actions and the secret political project of the lodge of Los corroboradores (supposedly founded by Carlos Pellegrini), which wanted to turn Buenos Aires into "the Paris of Silver". And he does it by combining it with the detective thriller and espionage airs.
Review:
A French journalist named Suzanne travels to Buenos Aires to investigate a supposed lodge, Los corroboradores, made up of notorious figures from the Buenos Aires elite of the Generation of 80 (late 19th century and first part of the 20th) and whose objective was to copy buildings Parisians in Buenos Aires and turn it into "the Paris of Silver". Her informant is a Uruguayan character named Martín Dressler, who would have evidence about the lodge. Thus begins Suzanne's attempts to locate Dressler in Buenos Aires and her search for him based on clues that he is leaving her.
This is the general approach of this ingenious mockumentary (mockumentary) that tackles the Francophilia of the entire economic and political elite of Argentina and accommodates a wide series of historical and cultural facts based on a conspiracy theory (in the manner of another notable recent example, The Red Star), abounding, of course, first-rate historical figures as part of its plot.
The director and co-screenwriter Luis Bernárdez combines various registers and formats in his film: the investigative documentary, with reports to sociologists, archaeologists, historians, architects, cultural critics and guides of real museums, and the detective thriller with an espionage air, when he follows a Suzanne - who keeps her identity a secret - while trying to find Dressler's whereabouts and carry out her investigations
As for the "evidence" provided by the research, the architectural survey carried out by the director to support the theory behind the film is remarkable. It is very intelligent and funny how from these indisputable elements, combined with the undeniable Francophilia of the time and encompassing from that place several of its cultural aspects and "explaining" historical facts that should not be relieved, Bernárdez gives rise to a whole historical hypothesis broader that explains a generation and a political project focused on turning Buenos Aires into "the Paris of Silver", and that goes far beyond the initial proposal, since the story ends, to Suzanne's surprise, doubling her bet.
