I watched Gato Negro hoping to get an idea of post-war
Argentine society. Instead, I got a blend of a period drama, thriller, crime and
social piece woven into one slow moving film.
Unfortunately,
the Argentine film didn’t work well in any of the genres. The Director tried
doing too much and lost focus. A classic case of ‘jack of all trades and master
of none.’
Yes, I did get
a glimpse into Argentine society: a dry and limited glimpse without any color
provided by the filmmaker though not enough to redeem the movie as an ‘intellectually
stimulating foreign film!’
The story
started well enough by introducing the main character, Tito, as a boy destined
for something more than life in his rural village hometown. Sure enough, the
film follows Tito grow into a wealthy businessman of dubious character and
shady deals. (I guess that’s business in Argentina?)
Along the
way he meets – and forgets – many characters. However, his hometown of Tucuman
keeps nagging at him through different ways, e.g. family, former lover, etc. He
just can’t seem to shake off his history with Tucuman even after becoming a
wealthy international businessman.
I can’t (and
won’t) say much more of the plot so as to not give away too much.
Although not
a ‘screaming buy,’ Gato Negro is a
good effort by director Gaston Gallo. I will keep on the lookout for more films
by Gallo. He is bound to direct a gem at some stage.
Note: Gato
Negro is available on Netflix as at September 2018.
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