Claudio Carvalho In Buenos Aires, the epileptic taxidermist Esteban Espinosa (Ricardo Darín) is a painstaking man that likes to plot the perfect heist. When his wife leaves him, he accepts the invitation of his friend Sontag (Alejandro Awada) to hunt in a forest. They rent a cabin owned by Diana Dietrich (Dolores Fonzi) and her husband Carlos Dietrich (Manuel Rodal) but soon they have an argument and Sontag returns to Buenos Aires. Esteban stays alone and while hunting a deer, he accidentally kills Dietrich near a shed. Esteban opens the shed and finds a plan for the heist of an armored truck. When he returns to the cabin, he stumbles with the criminals Sosa (Pablo Cedrón) and Montero (Walter Reyno) that are seeking out Dietrich. Now Esteban has the chance to execute the perfect crime he has dreamt on. "El Aura" is a weird and original film with an intriguing story, beautiful cinematography and environment and good acting. Unfortunately there are unnecessary details, such as why Esteban is epileptic since it does not affect the story. The conclusion is also disappointing with Esteban's fantasy coming true but he just returning to his routine life. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Aura"

Bliss Quest Nothing exceptionally spectacular about the plot of this film, nor even the dialogue. The film's appeal comes from the amazing scene sequencing and the odd, cerebral personality of the protagonist. The character basically lends credence to the thought : brain power will always dwarf physical power. Fabian Bielinsky (the director) doesn't short-change his audience with superfluous characters and unaccounted for detail. Each character (and scene)is the there for a strong purpose - to support the lead and the plot. Details that initially appear unnecessary are later explained. Kudos and kudos to the dog's trainer, whose work is reminiscent of the interaction of Kevin Costner and the wolf in Dances with Wolves. Since the credits were in Spanish, I was unable to distinguish the trainer's name, but did find the Dog's name - Eva.

bandw I give this movie credit for being the only one I have seen that has an epileptic taxidermist as a protagonist. I assume that there is some meaning intended by the taxidermist's day job and the frequent appearance of a dog with an ominous stare, but whatever meaning is there escaped me.It does not take long to understand that this is a mood piece rather than a realistic crime drama, and it succeeded for me in that context. It's just that I did not care for the mood it put me in, bordering on existential despair. The drone of the menacing score creates a somber mood--it's the kind of music that is meant to suggest significance and depth, but I found it repetitive and ultimately irritating. And don't look for any comic relief here, there is none.The setup for the heist is interesting, but in the end the crime story devolves into a rather standard conclusion. My interpretation of the final scene that had the dog glaring at us was that he was trying to say to us that we should be ashamed for having watched this.What with long takes and extended silences I found this to be overly ponderous and plodding.

Cihan "Sean Victorydawn" Vercan (CihanVercan) Ricardo Darin's Espinosa portrait is just like my reflection in the mirror. I found myself in it. Fabian Bielinsky's 3rd directing and 5th screenplay experience happened to be his last step of his career. With El Aura, he carries us away into the world of a misunderstood desolate man. For most films, people don't like reading a review or collecting detailed information before actually seeing the film. But if the film you're approaching is a mystery and cannot be understood easily in the first view, you should get some clue of it before watching. Anyhow, El Aura is one of them. Esteban Espinosa earns his life with taxidermy, filling up animal hides of wild-life. He is a naturalist and jack of all trades, has a strong memory and is very observant. One day waiting at a queue at the bank, he shares his most marvellous dream -to rob a bank- with his friend; while he is being offered to accompany his friend for shoot day out in the forest. On a Monday, they settle into a motel in the forest, where they weren't hosted well enough and were questioned if they are local; putting them on the jitters. With this bad mood, they start arguing while hunting for deers. After his friend insulted him and left him alone; he gets caught into a major epilepsy fit for a moment and falls in a faint. When he wakes up he is unconscious; and while aiming to shoot a deer, he suddenly turns his rifle to an old man walking in the forest and shoots him. Gaining back his conscious, he goes near to the man he shot; whose cell-phone starts to ring. Espinosa takes his cellphone and his i.d. ; then hides the corpse in a pit. To avoid the trouble he fell into, he remains calm and turns back to motel to stay there longer than planned. His friend goes back to the city, then he starts stepping towards his mysterious journey; when he finds out that the man he killed is the owner of the motel. The screenplay segments work completely perfect: Plot is very well built, script is written professionally in a plain format, story developing at its best, character developing is well crafted, and the main theme is so wisely gives multiple messages and views. Everything we see, we hear, we witness are elements of a complete mystery. This film needs to be seen very carefully. Flashback sequences will be refreshing our memory of the earlier scenes where it's completely necessary. Also it's clearly to see that the editing and the full post-production job with music and sound effects are best fit. I find it essential to analyze Esteban Espinosa's characterization work. There are 4 basic factors that differentiates Espinosa's character: 1/His life... 2/His dreams... 3/His self-defensive attitudes... 4/His disability:EpilepsyHe is not happy living his life on his own. He has a hidden adventurous character. He likes trouble, he likes testing his limits. Thus he pokes his nose into everything. He steals, collects and carries with him almost everything he thinks it's useful. In fact, Esteban Espinosa character may be an awesome sample of a Point-and-click Adventure Game. His character has been designed to be another Guybrush or another George Stobbart. Overall, El Aura is among the best of all-time Mystery/Adventure movies.