El otro - L'autre

El otro (The Other) is an Argentine film made in 2007, directed by Ariel Rotter. It's a small film about a middle-aged man, who suddenly becomes a father when his own father is dying. It is a movie about a man's identity crisis.

A middle-aged man (Julio Chávez) who is taking care of his old father finds out that his wife is pregnant. In result of this he leaves his home and goes for a "business-trip". He walks down the vacant streets of Argentina and tries to find his place. In every situation where he has to introduce himself, he uses a different name, a different identity.

The Other is a very quiet film. There's not much of dialog and not much happen in it. It's very minimalistic. But this makes the visual narrative even more important. The director let's us observe on our own and make our own interpretations.

Ten minutes in and you will notice something unusual about the camera-work. The camera isn't moving, it doesn't follow the characters. This can be interpreted philosophically. The camera stays still, it takes distance to the main character. It just shows him walking down the streets, movement, but the camera itself doesn't move. So what we see is a man walking but not really moving forward. His life stays still. He is a prisoner of this stable situation that he cannot detach from. It's quite interesting to see if he'll find a solution? Will he be able to detach from his stable life?

So who is The Other? Is it the man's other identity or is it the other father? Is it the man he never came? The shots of The Other are very beautiful. The man walking the empty streets, filling an empty chair. Beautiful film I must say. I will probably remember The Other from its minimalism: It doesn't have music at all, the dialog is marginal and it doesn't have a certain climax. I will also remember the good cinematography, which let the viewer to observe, think and get satisfied by the solutions.

I think this is a film about life, the passing of time and getting older. It is a slow moving film, not much dialog and little action.But this is necessary to get you into the situation. Juan is a middle-age man who notices that he is getting old (he cannot see without glasses anymore). At the same time his wife is pregnant and his father is dying. These facts lead him to a journey throughout his life, an inside journey. "The other" is the man that he is not any longer, or the one that he is never going to be (other professions, other backgrounds).Life, death and time. The film is simple in appearance: Juan takes a bus and walks along the streets, meets different people, changes his name, etc. but it invites you to feel and understand his experience, that is human experience. Juan is very well performed by Julio Chávez and the characters look like people in a dream. In fact, I think that if it would have been a dream it wouldn't make any difference. i do not recommend this film to very young people, of those who like action and a clear argument. It is a film for people in the forties who like to think and discuss about important things in life.

I just came back from "El Otro" playing here in Buenos Aires and I have to say I was very disappointed. The film is very slow moving (don't get me wrong, I enjoy slow moving films!), slow to the point of driving you crazy. All you hear is Julio Chavez breathing heavily throughout the whole film. This is a poorly made film, but more importantly, it is a film without a lick of inspiration, I felt nothing for the story or its characters.

"El Otro" was made only for the sake of making a film... making it forgetful. I would advise you to pass on this one, if you want to see good Argentinian films, look for films by Sorin.

The title should have been "The walker". That was only he did walk.

There was nothing on the movie that was good. The description of the movie doesn't really comply with the plot.

The only thing that I can get from the movie is that he was a good son, but a low life terrible person.

I'm sorry that I expend my money and time, on this movie. I saw people leaving the theater in the middle of the movie. I stayed hoping that it will better....what a mistake. I got worse.

If there is a suggestion that I can make to he producer is to re-direct his life to another field, because making movies is definitely no his cup of tea

I just finished watching "El Otro". I have always taken my hat off to Julio Chavez's performances, as he is a great actor, but this movie is really depressing and slow. I guess that it would have been even worse if it wasn't for Julio. Anyways, this is definitely a film that you will never understand if you are not from Argentina, and even if you are, I would advise you not to rent this movie in order to have a nice time with your girlfriend, boyfriend, family or friends... it is really depressing and incredibly slow, and the plot does not make a lot of sense neither. Probably the director wanted to show the fragility of the human life, but what he does is bore and impress the audience with scenes that shock you a little bit. It gives you something to think about, but not in a good way. Overall, I definitely didn't like this movie.