weredaleboy This is a visually stunning film which is a reflection on Argentina and its history, film-making, the connections between the past and the future, and of course Argentina's great tradition of dance. To bring it all together and make it personal, the through-line concerns a film director's budding romance with a young dancer he has discovered following his traumatic split with a legendary dancer. But that's one element of the film only, and not necessarily its most important element. The film tells us of Argentine history, the prevalence, and even the reemergence of its archetypal themes through the generations, romance, passion, freedom, repression, violence, hope--all told in the language of the tango.The cinematography is first-rate, the overlapping narrative elements (the love story, the story of film-making and its struggles, the story of Argentina in the 20th century, and the story of dance itself) is engaging. But the real reason to see this film is the dancing, which is quite simply stunning. Among the cast are dancers legendary not only in Argentina, but across the world. Mia Maestro, who plays the young up-and-coming dancer, has the exhilarating but probably terrifying job of dancing among all these professionals. While her own dance training is not as extensive as the men and women she dances with, however, she does a really wonderful job in her own dancing scenes--and only someone with significant dance experience will be able to spot the differences between her and the professional dancers.In some ways, though, even these differences make sense in the context of the story. Elena is the young dancer, and part of the drama that Saura presents is her own evolution in the tango. As she learns more, she becomes more alive to her history and her identity. Her dancing deepens throughout the film.And if you don't want to learn to dance the Argentine tango after you have seen this film, then you have no soul. Many thumbs up!

ruthgee The dancing in this movie was wonderful to watch. The posture of the dancers amazing. The colours magnificent. I found the tale fascinating. I believe what we watched was the film being made and the story told was what the director wanted us to see, because at the end, everyone was clapping and all were friendly.It was all make believe. The tale was not to be taken seriously, it was a play within a play.On the otherhand what happened in Argentina many years ago was true and the way the director directed this sad time was very inventive. It showed through dancing the tragic story.

lvoky This movie is one of the most beautiful pieces i ever saw. It's such a pleasure to watch it. A prefect camera, gorgeous colors and exciting dancing scenes make this film a piece of poetry. The evidence is a lack of a strong story. This is just lyric film. It will make you happy. Surely.

michalis damianou If you like dancing in general,this film is for you. Carlos Saura tries to present the art of filming with all the necessary procedure in a tango atmosphere. Argentinian nostalgia in a plot where Mario,the director(after being left by Laura)will fall in love with the first in-line ballerina,Elena who is pursued by a rich gangster. The rest of the movie is a set of lessons on tango with all the fast changes in pace,watching the feet in a complicated backup of the relevant music.Symbolism takes precedence in this movie by the insertion of inanimate objects like the camera or the rehearsal chairs.A hymn to cinema,dance and their relation to life.