Argentinia

Many people associate Argentina primarily with the tango. The enormous diversity of Latin American folk dances and music are often as little known as their deep roots in the country's history. With his unusual music film Argentinia, director Carlos Saura has set himself the goal of taking the viewer on a journey back to the origins of Argentine folklore. To this end, he has assembled an ensemble that presents traditional couple dances and rousing songs. These are shown in an inherently reduced visual language that thrives on a perfectly choreographed interplay of light and shadow. The expression of bodies and voice, of movement and music makes this film a very special performance.

At the same time, Argentinia is also a tribute to two very great artists of the country: Mercedes Sosa and the Indian poet and exiled musician Atahualpa Yupanqui. When Saura has Sosa's hymn Todo Cambia interpreted by a group of students, he makes it impressively clear what influence music can have on society across the generations and how timeless the works of the artists paid homage to are. This is just as fascinating as the journey through the country, which is recorded in one place but takes the viewer through the different regions of Argentina and through their cultural history using only sounds and movements.

At the same time, it must also be said that viewers hoping for documentary-style information or picturesque landscape shots may well be disappointed. There is no off-screen explanatory voiceover, no archival footage (at least not presented in the traditional sense), and no clear narrative. Everything the viewer learns about the country and its people is conveyed in film only through song lyrics and dance moves. Those who can't get into it will eventually become exasperated and bored, wondering what such an overlong folkloric music video is doing in cinema.

But for those who manage to share the director's passion for the music and dances of his country and succumb to his very particular visual language, the fascinating aspects of this very special music film are guaranteed to open up. Argentinia is certainly not a film for a mass audience. Certainly, a small niche is served here. But it does so in such an elegant, lively and fascinating way that it is clearly worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp