Naked Tango

Upon witnessing a suicide on board a trans-Atlantic vessel, a woman assumes the identity of the deceased to escape for a new life.

It turns out that the woman who's life she is replacing in a Polish mail order bride for a rich man in Argentina, who just so happens to run a brothel for the unequal male-female ratio population.

Ah-ha, not quite the lucky break she was hoping for then.

Two rival gangs operate in the city: the Argentines and Jews, and a powerful figure in the Jewish gangland is scheduled to be her first official customer.

I won't spoil it by telling what happens from here on out, but the woman's obsession with the tango-swirling hit-man of the Argentinian gang, Cholo, complicates things, as he battles with himself to keep his emotional distance from a woman he finds truly fascinating...

Superb acting, lavish sets, a simple yet powerful script and all that tango just makes this one quite unforgettable.

I'd strongly suggest anyone looking for something new to hunt down a copy and give this one a go.

Almost 10 years ago, it happened one night that I got into the theater ( a kind of B-movie theater of double feature ) in the back street of Seoul in Korea. I didn't even know the title of this film when I bought the ticket. Now I am studying film in Art School in San Francisco and still remember the powerful imagery and storytelling of the film. This film shaked my fundamental concept of the film itself and it still gives me the energetic interaction of the very unique aesthetics and visual ecstacy. I could not forget the night of watching this film still now. I think Hector Babenco should adore this film.

Amazing. What struck me right from the start was the intense use of rich colour and brooding shade. The camera seems to leer through a fish-like, distorted lens at times. The story itself is very dynamic, with frequent turns and revolutions in the plot. The creators have used an ingenious blend of futuristic, and what seems to me to be late nineteenth/early twentieth century set and costume, so we are left wondering exactly when and where this story is set. By turns bloody, beautiful, outrageous, mysterious, dark and passionate, this is a very stirring film. The tension and attraction between the protagonists is so palpable it seems to tear up the screen! The final showdown in the abattoir is a cinematic crescendo, putting it politely. I rate this film most highly because it is a classic example of what a director can do when they really let their imagination run wild.

Vincent D'Onofrio is beyond gorgeous in this pretentious little ditty. It's a gorgeous film, very "foreign" and decadent and moody, but what of sense? It's silly - I get it, the tango is sensuous. Yeah, I got that. Wow, she's naked and he's cruel and hot. Wow, he's good in bed and it took a lot to get him to do it. He's not a whore, but she was forced to be! Tell me, isn't this film reminiscent of a "Kids in the Hall" episode with Francessca Foray (a Scott Thompson character, "International B - Movie Star") and everyone was speaking in movie metaphors? Yeah, it is. It's overwrought but I enjoyed this movie. Dumb yes, but it was fun and glorious to look at, from the bondage - bed scenes to Vincent all lean and dressed to the nines. Good Lord that man 's a typhoon of hottness (how's that phrase for you?)

I can see why many people dislike this film. Some of the scenes in it are more suggestions of reality than reality itself. I personally liked it. The settings were superb. The dancing wonderful. Cholo, melting the girl's heart just by fancy footwork is amazing.

Argentinian Tango musicians will tell you that they have witnessed many couples copulating while they dance the tango, hence the blindfolded trio makes this suggestion. (Since writing that I have been informed that tango musicians WERE sometimes blindfolded in real life.)

The costumes and especially the lighting are terrific.

The relationship between the two central characters is complex: less talk more S & M.