It's the first time I'm going to talk about an Argentinean movie, and I want to make it right. Adrian Caetano comes from the group of the innovating Argentinean directors that emerged some years ago (Pablo Trapero and others). He did the low budget film "Pizza, Birra, Faso", and then filmed some television series, before he came with the idea for "Un oso rojo", a powerful piece of film-making.
This is one of the most realistic movies I've seen in years. People like the characters in the film really live like that in Argentina. And the reason because the main character, Oso, has to do the things he doesfor his family, it's because that's the only way he can manage to help them. He can't get clean, he can't get a good job. He has just got out of jail, and is trying to make things right. He is madly in love with his daughter, Alicia. In one scene, the camera shows a tattoo Oso has, that says "Alicia" inside a heart. His daughter asks him: "Can that be taken away". "No, it can't", Oso says. Alicia replies: "Does it last forever?". "For ever", answers his father.
The other main characters are Natalia, Oso's ex-wife; Sergio, Natalia's actual husband; and El Turco, an old man that owes Oso 4000 "pesos". Then we see the characters wandering in their reality, and it shocks. It shocks to see a father with his daughter in the park, and a woman thinking the father is a stranger. Alicia seems to love her father too, although he keeps lying to her to hide a reality she could know. When Oso gets a job as a Car Driver, he's driving her daughter to school, and she asks: "Is this car yours or you stole it?". She's not stupid, and Agostina Lage shows it in a very convincing performance for a 9-year old girl. Natalia, Oso's wife; she was in love with him, once, not now. Soledad Villamil, a well-known Argentinean actress, plays the role naturally and speaks like her character should. Then there's a television and movie actor, who always does the same character; at least in my opinion. Luis Machín does it again here, playing Sergio, and it suits him great, in the role of a morally destroyed man.
Julio Chávez has the best performance anyway. So strong and powerful, and real; as the whole movie. Honestly, the movie is about him; with his deep feelings, with his love for his family. He would do anything for them; he shows it. It doesn't matter when, how, but he would risk everything. His performance was recognized with the most prestigious awards; and he deserved them all, because he did it superbly. It's in his eyes where you discover a truly focused performance.
The script is real and short. I mean, people don't speak much. The script doesn't need to go deeper, we understand it as it is, because the people in the movie can't talk with deep words; and that's how real it is. Because of the actors, Adrián Caetano has directed the film correctly. The movie has some flaws in terms of edition, but it is not noticeable. Together with "Historias Mínimas", "Un oso rojo" was the best film of 2002 in Argentina.
There are things people should know. In a scene, when Oso is trying to figure out what to do with his daughter, his chief talks to him a guy that works with them and lost his daughter: "Sometimes, if you want the best for your family, you have to stay away"
