El violin (2005)

Note Générale:

7,8/10   

Réalisateur:

Francisco Vargas

Scénariste:

Francisco Vargas (writer)

Date de sortie:

3 janvier 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drame | Musique

Intrigue:

In an unnamed Latin American country that closely resembles Mexico, the government fights a rural insurgency with torture...

Plot Keywords:

Violin | Rebel | Ammunition | Soldier | Assault

Récompenses:

24 wins & 7 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Riveting debut performance by an elderly actor and impressive photography

Ensemble

Ángel Tavira	...	Don Plutarco
Gerardo Taracena	...	Genaro
Dagoberto Gama	...	Capitán
Mario Garibaldi	...	Lucio
Fermín Martínez	...	Teniente
Silverio Palacios	...	Comandante Cayetano
Octavio Castro	...	Zacarías
Mercedes Hernández	...	Jacinta
Gerardo Juárez	...	Pedro
Ángeles Cruz	...	Jefa Guerrilera 1
Norma Pablo	...	Jefa Guerrilllera 2
Ariel Galvan	...	Joaquín
Amorita Rasgado	...	Prostitutas
María Elena Olivares	...	Doña Lupe
Esteban Castellanos	...	Manuel
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
José Aviles	...	Campesinos torturados
Carlos Balderrama	...	Soldado
Francisco Casasola	...	Cabo
José Castilla	...	Soldatos
Carolina Cervantes	...	Prostitutas
Cornelia Cruz	...	Vendedora
Cristina Domínguez	...	Despazada
Jimena Dominguez	...	Nina del final
Manuel Dominguez	...	Jovene Golpeados
Mauricio Dominguez	...	Jovene Golpeados
Benito Hernandez	...	Campesinos cantina
Cristian Martínez	...	Campesinos torturados
Justo Martínez

Réalisé par
Francisco Vargas

Scénaristes (dans l'ordre alphabétique)
Francisco Vargas		writer

Produit par
Ángeles Castro	....	producer
Hugo Rodríguez	....	producer
Francisco Vargas	....	producer

Musique originale
Armando Rosas
Cuauhtémoc Tavira

Image
Martín Boege
Oscar Hijuelos

Montage
Ricardo Garfias
Francisco Vargas

Direction artistique
Claudio Contreras

Création des costumes
Rafael Ravello

Maquillage
Rubén Molina	....	makeup artist

Technicien du son
Eric Dounce	....	co-sound designer
Esteban Golubicki	....	foley recordist
Enrique Greiner	....	sound designer
Isabel Muñoz	....	sound (as Isabel Muñoz Cota)

Dpartement Editorial
Adriana Martínez	....	first assistant editor

Divers
Ramirez Francisco Juan Antonio	....	production accountant
Veronica Novelo	....	production coordinator

Companies de production

• Camara Carnal
• Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC)
• Fidecine

Distributeurs

• Canana Films (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Bodega Films (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Film Movement (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Filmoptimistene (2007) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Pachamama Cine (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Manana (2007) (Poland) (all media)

Autre(s) titre(s):

The Violin (International: English title) (USA) (new title)

Durée:

98 min

Pays:

Mexico

Langue:

Espagnol

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12

Lieux de tournage:

Rancho San Isidro, Ixtapaluca, Estado de México, Mexico

Société:

Camara Carnal

Anecdotes:

First feature film by director Francisco Vargas

Riveting debut performance by an elderly actor and impressive photography

Imagine that you look like a grandfather in real life. Imagine that your right palm has been amputated but you play a violin with a bow strapped to the maimed arm. Imagine a director wanting to use you as a lead actor in a feature film. Imagine you win a Cannes Film Festival Best Actor prize for the "Un Certain Regard" section of the festival for the role. It's not a dream--it happened to Mexican actor Don Angel Tavira in the Mexican film "El Violin" or the Violin, directed by Francisco Vargas.

I caught up with this film at the on-going International Film Festival of Kerala, India, where it won the Silver Crow Pheasant, an award for the best competition entry chosen by the delegates (in contrast to the jury). The award was bestowed on the basis of votes from 6200 delegates attending the festival.

I do not know how Tavira lost his palm but I learned that the director made the film keeping the future actor in mind. Tavira looks like Charles Vanel in his later years. He exudes a sincerity that touches the viewer and is not easily forgettable. He mixes sincerity with the wizened touch of an old fox.

The film is similar to Irish filmmaker Ken Loach's "The wind that shakes the barley" in many ways. Only "The violin" is shot in black and white while Ken Loach shot his film in lush color. The photography is in no way amateurish. Both films are about the poor fighting mighty oppressors--in the case of "El Violin" poor villagers fighting a cruel Mexican army.

Finer points of the film include a marvelous dialog between grandfather and grandson that speaks highly of the director screenplay writer's Vargas' writing capability. Yet he has only made four films.

As one might have guessed the violin case and violin player are key to the development of the film. Music is a great leveler--the brutes and the aesthetes both appreciate good music.

Vargas choice to film in black and white is commendable. The violence and rape that launches the film is not extended into the film as other directors would have been tempted to do. Interestingly the strength of the film is that it does not show violence at later stages--something that Ken Loach could not restrain himself from. Violence for Vargas is not gratuitous--it is to provide the focal point. The rest of the violence is only for the viewer to imagine. Now that's good cinema.

This time Vargas had a great actor. Can he make equally good films without such innate talent of Don Tavira? My guess is that he can repeat this feat with others too. Vargas has an eye for talent, for good photography and a flair for good scriptwriting.