Plata quemada

Burnt Money is an exceptional film in the crime drama genre and stands quite well as director Marcelo Pineyero provides Hollywood with an example of what subtlety can bring to cinema. This film also does its best as a commentary of the internal division between the people and the corrupt government in Argentina, as showcased by the character Nando, played by Carlos Roffe. A few scenes strike out at me for recounting the director's work and it also must be said that the work of the actors that portrayed Nene, Angel and Cuervo was thoughtful and delivered with subtlety to match that of the director's nuanced vision of the world that the trio inhabits.

Two scenes that immediately jump to mind are those that weave both dramatic long takes with clever use of diagetic sound to create a suspenseful dramatic scene. The two scenes are of the moment that Vivi is captured by the police and the 'relaxing' scene at the beach party with the trio. I enjoyed both of these scenes very much due to the director's courage to use a long take to add suspense. The suspense in these scenes however is not the same as the violent and gore soaked films we call 'suspense', but a more chilling and ominous sense of dread is evoked with the stillness of each scene. There is a moment that both scenes erupt with action, and the music within each scene accentuates the moment that the juxtaposition of mood occurs. Basically the manipulation of music within the scene such as the record being torn off the player just as the party erupts show that the director made disciplined use of all the tools in his arsenal to create a fully imagined atmosphere and mood.

Argentina, 1965. A heist goes wrong. Three men are on the run looking for a place to hide. They find it in Montevideo, they need false passports to leave so they wait day after day until the police come and everything goes apocalyptic.

The bare facts.

But the real movie is about the two killers in the gang, El Nene and Angel, called Los Mellizos (the twins). They are not related. They are lovers: two fugitives sharing loneliness and pain, living their lives on the edge. It's the story of a doomed relationship, confined into four rooms where intense passion and violence push the extremes.

In their hostile world of drugs, cheap sex, prejudice and revenge they have to deal with a feeling born from repression and the fear of naming it. There is, above all, their desperate search for love and loyalty that makes them some kind of tragic heroes in the end.

Seldom has cinema faced the subject of masculine desire and affection in such a natural, honest and even tender way. For sure a different sight of an action movie and a remarkable piece of acting.

Worth seeing.

I won't rehash the details again, as so many previous comments have done wonderful jobs on discussing the plot and technical aspects of this film.

I want to commend the leads on their brilliant job. Often when (male) actors are asked to "play gay" you get an overly sexualized relationship - as though they feel the only way to portray the connection between men is through overt lust.

The director and actors here, have instead sought out a more subtle, but infinitely more honest portrayal. Every touch and sidelong glance between Nene and Angel just burns with intimacy. They might have the least on-screen sex, but this is the relationship that you really believe. The actors truly seem comfortable with their bodies, with touching one another, and so whether they are touching or just looking at each other - you can feel that familiarity they share and the intimacy translates beautifully onto the screen. Really an amazing performance of body-language.

My one complaint about "Plate quemada" is the rather shoddy subtitles. I can understand enough of the language to be able to pick up when the sub's aren't direct, or are leaving out dialogue. I HATE that. In a film such as this, when so much of the plot depends on the characters and their relationships, it becomes agonizing not to know exactly what they're saying.

Marcelo Pineyro, one of the best directors from Argentina, surprises with every new effort. Working on this film with Marcelo Figueras, he also contributed to bring Ricardo Piglia's novel to the screen with unexpected results. The novel was based on a real criminal case that happened in Buenos Aires in the 1960's.

The two men at the center of the story are gay lovers who happened to be criminals. These two men share a passion that comes across on the screen like no other in recent memory. Angel, the Spaniard, wants to go to New York and Nene, his lover, wants to comply, but first they must attend to the assault of a vehicle that brings money to one bank. During the heist Angel is shot on his shoulder.

Things are so hot for all the people involved, they flee to Uruguay. This was perhaps a miscalculation, because they are being followed by the Argentine police, that is working with local authorities in apprehending all the criminals.

Nene is restless. He decides to leave the safe house, and finds Giselle, a beautiful woman who falls in love with him. At this point, we are of two minds, is Nene really cheating on Angel, or is he trying to use Giselle into providing another place where they can hide? The violent end comes in a finale that doesn't have anything to envy to any other movies of the genre.

The best thing in the film are the two leads. Leonardo Sbaraglia is one of the best actors that have come out of Argentina lately. He does an amazing job in portraying Nene. Eduardo Noriega, is also a Spanish actor that has done excellent work before and he shows his range in a magnificent performance as Angel. Leticia Bredice is Giselle, the young woman in Montevideo who befriends, then fall in love with Nene.

The film proves Marcelo Pineyro is a voice to be reckoned with and who has an enormous talent for giving his audience his best.

An excellent movie where everything is beautiful - from the crumbling, claustrophobic backdrops of the antagonists' hiding places, the actors and the background music.

Besides showing an unusual homosexual relationship, the film also questions the relationship between sex, love and violence - even when the main characters turn "straight" violence and death hang in the air, with scenes sex often interspliced with those of death and agony.

More importantly, you can't help but feel sorry - and yet almost envious - for the doomed (and did I mention beautiful?) lovers as they slide towards their inevitable end, just for the incredible passion they have for each other.