This is a perfect example of how a lavish production that a priori seems to have all the necessary ingredients to succeed with an attractive story, including good settings , luxurious costumes and first-class leading actors is no guarantee of anything, because in the end the result is not a nice movie .This is a story of immigration -in this case to Buenos Aires, Argentina- during the last two decades of the 19th century , dealing with the friendship of two emigrants : the Spanish Roque Díaz Ouro (Jose Coronado) , a widower and father of a child, and Hermann Frisch (Peter Lohmeye) , a German musician who plays the bandoneon. Together, in a constant exercise of sincerity and solidarity , they will educate the boy while making a fortune with the help of a third character : Ciriaco Maidaana (Federico Luppi) , the ghost of a man killed in a fight over petty matters , who only lets himself be seen by Roque and Teresa (Maribel Verdú) , a prostitute who runs a brothel . It is a time when immigrants can prosper by working , but there are also others and easier ways to get money : white slavery , cockfighting , illegal land appropriation.
This historical and disjoined drama concerns the European immigration to the Americas . Among its main characters appear a Spanish immigrant, a German one , and an established "Argentine" . They compete for the affection of a more established female Spanish immigrant , now a successful businesswoman , albeit a prostitute . So-so movie , absolutely unsuccessful , with a lousy interpretation of a newcomer José Coronado in a role that was too big for him , no getting into the character and for which he lacked tables enough . The script, somewhat strange as the novelist is a co-writer Horacio Vázquez-Rial , is very loose , full of failures and gaps , being erratically developed and defining the main roles very poorly and palely . It occurs to me that it may be a problem with the script , this adaptation for the cinema has not been well made , perhaps in an effort to want to fit everything into just 98 minutes of film , it seems that they lacked criteria when deciding which characters and sub-plots to sacrifice, in order to give more strength to the main story . It is , therefore, a badly paced film with few values , extremely indefinite and with a scattered plot that uses the resource of magical realism in a ridiculous way , where there is an unnecessary profusion of gratuitous nudity . José Coronado and Maribel Verdú were at their best as known actors , they were very handsome and charming , it is appreciated to see them so magnificent on screen , but the physical is not everything, I think that here their interpretations lacked strength , and not providing the due depth of characters , in especial Coronado who is the main thread of the whole story. I loved Federico Luppi's performance , who seemed to capture the essence of his peculiar role. My impression is that Luppi was already a veteran with many records and he knew how to do it on his own, but Coronado and Verdú lacked necessary direction .It is worth talking about an exemplary money wasted and conclude that Gerardo Herrero could only give it to produce and stimulate other talents and directors and abandon this shooting task himself, because in view of the results is more than boring.
The motion picture was lousily directed by Gonzalo Herrero with a lot of potholes , flaws and shortcomings. His direction, which would have to amalgamate all the good elements that the interesting story contained , was not successful . Gerardo is a famous producer as well as filmmaker . He was President of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1994-1994) . Great producer of big hits , being especially known for The Secret of your ears (2009), Sin Retorno (2010) , Balada Triste de Trompeta (2010) , Crimenes De Oxford (2008) and El Hijo De La Novia (2001). He also directed some good films such as ¨Silencio En Nieve¨ , ¨Corredor Nocturno¨ , ¨Principio Arquímedes¨ , ¨Crimen Galindez¨ , ¨Territorio Comanche¨ , ¨Desvio a Paraíso¨ , ¨Heroína¨,¨Al Acecho¨ and this ¨Frontera Sur¨ . Rating : 4/10 . Only for Maribel Verdú and José Coronado fans.
