Tango Bar

You know you are in trouble when in a film, the director includes pieces of other films, including cartoons, of people doing the tango. Isn't that what Ed Wood used to do--incorporating pieces of what he found on the cutting floor to fill his movie? And he was, supposedly, the worst director in the history of Hollywood. Well, folks, we have the runner up in the man who directed Tango Bar.

Tango Bar (1988) is a movie about tango the dance, clearly made by people who love the tango. Its plot, such as it is, concerns the return to Argentina of Antonio (Ruben Juarez), a bandoneon player and singer who has fled the reign of the military in the 1970s and 1980s, and his reunion with his creative partner, a pianist and songwriter, Ricardo (Raul Julia). Ricardo, a Puerto Rican immigrant, has chosen to stay in Buenos Aires to run 'Tango Bar' with Antonio's wife, Elena (Valerie Lynch), who is also a tango singer. Such romantic triangles are very reminiscent of many tango lyrics; it can also be seen as an allegory of the exiled artist's relationship with Argentine during and after the 'Dirty War'. However don't get the wrong idea. Character, ideas and plot are all secondary, tango is the star. Throughout the movie, there are flashbacks to the duo's sellout show 11 years earlier, called 'Este es Tango' (This is Tango), and these flashbacks are the real heart of the movie. They include a series of dance sequences that illustrate the history of the tango. One or two are a little dated (as always the 'up-to-date' ones) but the best (and there are many highlights) are beautifully danced to wonderful music. For me, the highlights are an antique style tango danced in a sumptuous Buenos Aires brothel, a 1920s European style tango (halfway between tango argentino and ballroom tango) and, the pinnacle, an authentic 'tango argentino' danced in its proper setting by its true devotees. This last is, in many ways, the best tango in any movie, and I include Sally Potter's much vaunted 'Tango Lesson' and even Carlos Saura's 'Tango'. As Antonio says in introducing it, this is tango danced "the right way" by the people who dance it best; it is also a beautifully composed sequence. It comes at the end of a series of delightful but increasingly bizarre Hollywood tangos. In sum, this is not a great movie but it is a movie suffused with a total passion for the tango. I can't comment what it would do for someone who is not a tango nut but for this tango nut, it is a hidden gem!

The story is a Tango. The film alternates between a story about a woman and her choices (then and now) between two men, and with vignettes that show the history of Argentine Tango and how the dance relates to Argentina and its history. The film is dark, but Tango is dark so it fits.

There is a very funny section where they show Tango as seen through the eyes of Hollywood. It includes Abott and Costello dancing Tango and Tango from the Flintstones cartoon.

The dance scenes are all very different. There is a ballet, there is a street dance (much like many of today's music video numbers), there is a stage show (Tango Fantasia), and there is a milonga. The milonga will surprise you, you will want to review this scene over and over.

No Tango afficianado's film collection would be complete if it didn't contain a copy of Tango Bar.

You don't have to be a big tango afficionado to like this film---just a tolerance for the music. This is no action thriller, so just sit back and let the atmosphere wash over you. Low-keyed acting performances are quality throughout. Raoul Julia in his element, where he belongs. Valeria Lynch looks good, acts well, a fine performer whom I'd love to see more of. There is something magic about the tango, and the viewer who lets himself feel this will be rewarded by this film.

Not a lot of plot, but some. There has to be some, however little. but, who cares? This is a movie abut "Tango, and Argentine Tango at that" There are English subtitles to help out, but after you play it 10-12 times, you pretty well know not only the English, but what they must be saying in Spanish. Some Spanish helps. If you like to dance, and if you've tried Argentine Tango, and enjoyed it, you'll love it. It may pale after a dozen or so more times of watching, but I doubt it. To the fellow who did not like it at all - he apparently is a devote of hip hop, slam dancing or such. it's not his fault he can not appreciate Tango. Too bad.

If you dance, can feel the music and like Tango, Tango Bar is a great movie.

donr