Tony Manero (2008)

I'm looking at these IMDb reviews of Tony Manero,they're all missing the same thing, which tells you the caliber of lameness going on around here. There is an absurd, sick, humor to this movie. This is the Disco version of Man Bites Dog. If you haven't seen Man Bites Dog, then it's time to see Man Bites Dog. Then, maybe a week later, when the cinematic pallet is cleansed, watch Tony Manero. The cinematography is on the money. I can recommend taking a look at director Pablo Larrain's other work, pretty hip stuff. He kind of reminds me a little of Hal Hartley. This film should go down as an indie classic and be played frequently on IFC.

Some obsessions are OK, but if your obsession, at 52 years old, is to be the Tony Manero (Saturday Night Fever) of Chile, then you might want to get a life.Alfredo Castro is Raúl, a man obsessed with achieving his goal, and a man who lets nothing stand in his way. He is oblivious to the goings on in Pinochet's Chile.He is also obvious to his girlfriend's (Amparo Noguera) attempts at intimacy. He is focused on one thing, and excludes all else.A serial killer, and a thief, Raúl even takes his girlfriend's daughter (Paola Lattus) upstairs to have sex with her watching. It is as bizarre as the first sex scene. He just can't do things normally.When he hears that Goyo (Héctor Morales) is going to compete against him, he defecates on his white suit.It was a gritty film that shows the price of obsession, and the grim reality of the country of Chile under Pinochet, not in a documentary style, but fictionally.

A chilling study in obsession and violence, set against the backdrop of Pinochet's totalitarian Chile in the late '70's. Raul (Alfredo Castro) is a pathological serial killer and amoral petty thief who is obsessed with John Travolta's character from the movie Saturday Night Fever. He watches the film daily and mouths the dialogue, and even tries to copy his mannerisms. As an homage to the film he is also mounting a dance routine in the small cantina where he works. Raul is the type who sees something he wants and takes it by any means possible, whether it be a colour TV or even his girl friend's sexually precocious daughter. He enters a TV competition to find Chile's Tony Manero lookalike, and takes care of one of his rivals in typically nasty fashion. Dressed in his gaudy white suit, Raul looks less like John Travolta and more like a seedy Al Pacino circa Scarface. But his selfish obsession towards these superficial distractions and his willingness to live in an unrealistic fantasy world blind him to the very real perils of Chile, where death squads roam the streets and plains clothes police snatch people off the streets. Raul is a repellent character, and Castro, who co-wrote the film with director Pablo Larrain, makes no attempt to garner sympathy for him. Larrain's direction is restrained and understated, which makes the grim reality of Raul's environment somehow seem more menacing.

I really liked this movie. I wish there was a more solid ending, but it was acceptable. Very good use of using the fascist regime weaving in and out of the story. As many critics have already made us aware, the insane actions performed to satisfy an insane goal by the title character mirror those of the Chilean regime during the same period. Loved the documentary style of film-making. Loved the flawless depiction of a poor, but barely scraping by city. I would say the only thing I would have liked to have seen was some sort of closure to the story. I'm only human. Anyway, awesome otherwise. TONY MANERO should go down as an Indie Classic.