Tango

Rating:
Summary: The *essential* non-credited actor in "Tango"
Review: I've just read all the reviews here and am dumbfounded that NOBODY mentioned the one "actor" that threaded this immaculate film into a majectic tapestry of motion, color, absolutely splendid and exquisitely lustful music - and Thought. I'm speaking of the almost ever-present camera - on the long horizontal boom. Watch this masterpiece again. You are watching a film about the very film you are watching! That boom camera is your host. It is filming all that you are seeing AND *YOU* as you watch. It is including YOU in the film! The undeniable genius of this uniting and revealing element is to SOMEbody's credit, but that person(s) is not credited anywhere in anything I can find on the Web about "Tango." Watch it again! Watch and LISTEN for how brilliantly Lalo Shiffren's exquisitely composed and executed music coincides with each moment of each scene, and when that horizontal boom camera is present-whether straight on or mirrored-YOU are invited to also become a participant in this masterpiece of collaborative artistry. IMHO, "Tango" should be revived, re-viewed and returned to the short list of the Very Best Films Ever Made.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Impressions
Review: I've read others' reviews, and while I'm not adverse to this film, I do agree on many of the criticisms articulated here.

I'm familiar with the Latin American tradition of the entwinement of fantasy and reality, but I think Tango takes this to pretension. The anti-narrative structure is still yet a structure (contrary to what the producers intended, I supposed) that imprisons the tango from exploding in its full passionate intensity and exploring the characters' emotional states. The lack of emotional range was a disappointment for me. The detachment from the characters by rendering their subplot as a mere a prop of the pseudo-documentary is a technique I question. The film overly abstracted the human elements of the tango. The running commentary and voice-overs of Mia Maestro and the director were intentionally distracting, causing a detachment towards the characters and ultimately the experience of the dance form itself. I thought that this manipulative ploy made the film fail as an engaging experience for the audience by discarding the human element that is essential to understanding and feeling the tango. Since the quadruple (?) love story subplot is banal and pedestrian, the dance becomes vital. But unfortunately, the finest dancers of the film were not the main characters but the supporting cast of dancers - those dancers deserve to be recognized and be praised profusely for their skill and emotional investment towards their craft. While the choreography of some of the sequences made the heart race, the intrusion of the stupid subplot steals any potential emotional involvement I could have had for the film.

The presentation of the history and art of the tango lacked sincerity. Even if it had told through a hauntingly simple way a la Buena Vista Social Club, it would have been successful and effective. The postmodern pretensions of the production created a bits and pieces of fragments that titillated but failed to punch, surprise, and impassion. It lacked the unity necessary to behold the heart and to encapsulate a well-sculpted memory for the mind. It simply denounced humanity by trying to achieve too much conceptually before it even told its story. I am sure that the story can be told in a simple yet infinitely more powerful way than what has been done, even if the producers of the film are reluctant to tell it in the traditional linear narrative.

Rating:
Summary: Very sexy and interesting
Review: If you enjoy dance movies, then this is perfect, as you might have guessed from the title. I don't particulary care for the tango, but it is so well represented here that it was hard to resist. It's an incredibly stylish, sensual film, with a strange twist on an old story that kind of bends reality. The Argentinean women are breathtaking in their beauty and allure. The music is stunning too. It's a different kind of film, very richly textured, but due to its intense presentation of the dance it might not be for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: You loveTango , watch this movie over and over!!!
Review: If you love Tango, then you can watch this movie over and over. Carlos Saura's Tango movie brings you the artistic, stylish Tango coreographies and the great Tango melodies. Maybe I do not watch the whole movie everytime but I do watch the dance scenes with the same joy and excitement...I think If you are into Tango this movie should be in yor collection in the first place!!!

Rating:
Summary: Master piece
Review: In order to appreciate this movie, I think one has to know about the popularity of tango in South America. After all, that is where tango is still very much in fashion even today. This movie captures the very essence of tango. In doing so, the director cleaverly incorporated a second story that parallels the dances. In the end, tango and the story come together and dazzle the audience. If you don't like dance, this may not be suitable for you. If you don't mind the dancing, it is definitely worth seeing. If you love tango music, then you must see this. You can also buy the sound track of this movie. The music director/composer of this movie is none other than Lalo Schifrin. He is the one who arranged for the Three Tenors for their concerts. He is also the pupil of Astor Piazzola,yes the father of modern tango. The music is wonderful and the dances are equally good. The cinematography and the story are excellent. What else do you want from a movie?

Rating:
Summary: art piece.
Review: It is absolutely an art piece one could expect from the great films. The film fills the story with reality, illusions, stage performance and history, with breathtaking cinematography, great tango music and exquisite tango choreography in both solo and formation. It's purely pleasure to watch it.

Rating:
Summary: A great gift to your eyes....
Review: It is the best film about tango I've ever seen. with beautifull Argentinian looking women. I could never get enough of the dancing on the movie. Thanks to Saura. Great coordination on the steps. It's got a powerfull scene about the disappear people very well done. A must on a good DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious with not much tango
Review: Long boring monologue about a director's midlife crisis with a young dancer. We don't see much dancing (or even much of her), just his dreary voice and self, with uninspired artsy pseudo-ballet tango fitfully in the background

Rating:
Summary: Tango
Review: Maravillosa pelicula, fantacia y realidad se unen para hacernos dudar. A pesar que la conversacion de la joven es algo floja, cuando expone su posicion frente a los hombres, la pelicula esta bien lograda. Hermozas coreografias, buena musica, que nos dejan con ganas de aprender a bailar ese baile tan "machista", llamado TANGO.

Rating:
Summary: Saura does not take a back seat to Spielberg
Review: Much of this extraordinary movie deals with the Tango; its origins, its importance to the Argentine culture. The dancing is superlative, the music is wonderful. Amidst the music and the dancing, is a taut, dramatic love story. The depth of the story is not necessarily in the character development, but rather in the blurring of the imagination and reality experienced by the main character. This "back and forth" between reality and the imagination is marvelously portrayed as a result of Saura's sophisticated direction. At times you think you are looking at the characters only to find that you are looking at reflections. The cinematography and lighting are superb. A moviegoer does not have to have an affinity for the Tango to appreciate this movie. The terrific acting, beautiful use of light and color and the surreal thought processes of the main character are worthwhile in their own right, but the music, dancing and insight into the production of the "show within the show" are truly wonderful. Definitely an eleven on a scale of ten.