Tango

Carlos Saura directed Tango three years after the release of Flamenco.

Delving once again into Hispanic culture, this cinematic tribute to the celebrated dance is set in Buenos Aires. Director Mario Suáres (Miguel Ángel Solá) has just been left by his wife. To avoid depression, he embarks on a new artistic project: a musical celebrating tango.

At a party, Mario meets Elena (Mía Maestro), a talented dancer whom he hires for the title role. She is the partner of a wealthy businessman.

Mario and Elena soon become romantically involved, before the eyes of her spurned lover. Carlos Saura adds to the sentimental drama, based on the blurring of lines between Mario's life and his imagination, by questioning the military dictatorship and the duty not to forget.

The political dimension is particularly evident in the final scene of the film, where dance masterfully expresses the relationship between the individual and the community.

Laure Cordonier (CEC, Unil)