TIFF Review: Tony Manero
My original plan was to not review the movies that really didn’t cause much of an impression with me. These are the movies that I did not really enjoy nor did I dislike like them. I’ve got a few minutes before my next movie start and not enough time to write a larger review so I figure I might as well mention the Chilean movie Tony Manero. Tony Manero fell completely flat with me as I felt no connection to the characters nor did I enjoy the cinematography.
Tony Manero tells the story of a 52 year old Chilean man who is the head of a very small and very poor Chilean dance troupe. Raul has become fixated with the John Travolta’s Tony Manero character from Saturday Night Fever and wishes to become him. His whole life revolves around getting ready for a television contest which will fully validate his existence if he wins the dance impersonation contest.
Personally the whole movie fell flat. I felt no connection to the characters. I did not understand what the dance troupe saw in him and I felt the relationships between the characters were not developed well enough.
I want to include a quote from the official TIFF write up for Tony Manero:
Set in 1978 during Augusto Pinochet’s oppressive reign over Chile, Tony Manero explores the sort of ruthless society that is created when people are too afraid to speak their minds, and are threatened with death, torture and abduction.
The whole societal aspect of the movie also fell flat for me. Perhaps if I understood more of what was going on under Pinochet’s rule I would have been drawn in more but unfortunately that did not happen.
Tony Manero was the first movie that just did not succeed for me at TIFF. I do think it will play a bit better for those who fully understand the culture and history of Chile but as a general movie goer I’m going to say give this one a pass.
John,
Sorry, don want to be aggressive…
But this is a very stupid review.
Is this serious?
Don’t think so. You Just want look cool.
If you didn’t get it, don’t let others fell afraid to see it.
You better learn before teaching.
This film has a strong and beautiful soul.
The beauty should also be in our eyes, not just in the films we see.
Best,
Andy
Comment by Andy — September 9, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Calling a review stupid is pretty lame. You are free to disagree with me about the movie and definitely feel free to explain why I am wrong with specifics but how this review sums up what I came away with from the movie. I did not find the relationships between the characters to be believable.
I can fully accept that part of the movie did not play well for me because I know very little about the culture of Chile also.
I stand by what I said and the more power to you to stand by how you feel about the movie. Every film will touch people differently. This one just didn’t touch me much at all.
Comment by John Allison — September 9, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
hate to say it, but, minus the stupid, i’d have to agree with the first critique.
are you compelled to say something when you have nothing to say?
the whole expression comes off as that of a self-important 20 something year old who thinks that because he or she wasn’t moved by a piece that required of him or her some awareness of the world -other than what he or she happens to know and like- that this is “news” in need of publishing.
Comment by well — July 20, 2009 @ 10:58 pm