Caballos salvajes

A road movie that begins when a man tries to rob a bank and the bank's clerk, a yuppie, pretends the thief has kidnapped him to help him run away. While they're running away, they meet a girl who becomes part of the team.

While I may not know much about Argentinian cinema, I do know that this is a strange adventure. It gets increasingly hectic as it goes, with the second half being far more high-intensity than the first. The initial bank robbery and "kidnapping" are the least of the plot points.

Luckily this never devolves into complete madness. Possibly semi-madness, but nothing quite like "Mad Max" though it does have elements of a world that is beyond saving.

Sometimes it seems hard to find an Argentine movie released in the last 25 years with a plot that doesn't depend on corruption or economic crisis.

"Wild Horses" was made in 1995, a time of relative prosperity for Argentina, so it's corruption, not an economic crisis that leads old anarchist Jose (Hector Alterio) to threaten to shoot himself unless a large bank in Buenos Aires returns the $15,000 he lost years before because of the institution's shady practices.

Pedro (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is the yuppie executive chosen by Jose to turn over the money. The two leave the bank with a far larger sum and soon find themselves together on the road bound for Patagonia, pursued by police and paid assassins, and cheered on by the poor and the media as modern-day Robin Hoods.

Unlikely as this story sounds, it works well enough, thanks to great acting by Alterio. Director Marcelo Pineyro also keeps everything moving along fast enough so that we don't dwell on the occasional plot holes. Federico Luppi pops up at the end of the picture in a wonderful cameo. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.

7/10

Corruption exists on many levels. While Argentine cinema is certainly full of films about exposing institutional corruption, what makes Caballos Selvajes so moving is its focus on the personal choices of individuals in contributing to or avoiding corruption. The decision a young banker instinctively makes when confronting a life, death and money situation sets him on a path which irrevocably veers him away from becoming like his corrupt boss at the bank. Likewise that of an ambitious young journalist contrasts him sharply with his calculating and corrupt boss at the network.

Protecting human life, human expression, human freedom, and the truth is a theme which runs through this film. The consequences of making choices based on these priorities are often not easy, and that is reflected in the outcomes for these characters. The wild horses of this film are a metaphor for human freedom, and what must be done to insure their freedom, an example of hard but worthwhile sacrifice.

In the 90s i was in art school, so when this movie was released, was special for many reasons. Not only the old guy that is a anarchist meets a yuppie in a back robbering and the become friends, then they find a girl who get along with them...and here the spoiler stops. This is the kind of road movie where at the end you appreciate life even more, thats the kind of movie it is.

Literally starts in the city, and then they leave to the patagonia, also the movie shows that-in many moments of the movie-that sometimes we dont know ourselves enough, we need to enjoy life more, and think less. This movie the more you watch it, the more you feel was a road movie about life and how we need to live more, and how every choice you made have consecuences, made in argentina.is one of the best movies ever made, still today feel important.

An idealist movie as there ever was, "caballos salvajes" (Wild horses), truly captures an specific feeling in argentinian cinema.

Similar in spirit to the movies of Adolfo Aristaráin, it is the story about an old suicidal anarchist (Hector Alterio) who recovers his soul, and yes, it is a very soulful movie. Not a movie made to win festivals or to make well deserved cash, Caballos Salvajes is political at times, but also poignant and inspiring, nonetheless it's a road movie, with trepidant action and a heart of gold.

A life affirming flick for anyone who feels a little lost (although not a septuagenarian myself, I can relate), but also a great portrait of Argentina in the 1990s. A must see, anyway.