El Perro

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aka BOMBÓN
Movie Review by Ania Kalinowska

Starring: Juan Villegas, Walter Donado, Rosa Valsecchi, Mariela Diaz
Director: Carlos Sorin

This is a simple, beautifully told story that keeps you enthralled by its unpretentious narrative and likeable main characters, one of them being a snow-white dog, the other an ageing man who, despite the hardships that life throws at him, keeps on living with a quiet intensity that we all wish we possessed.

Juan Villegas (Juan Villegas) is on the downside; trying in vain to sell knives for a living after losing his job at a petrol station, and squatting at his daughter’s place because he has nowhere else to stay. His life changes after he adopts Bombón, a pedigree dog with a distinctive temperament. It’s out with the old and in with the new for the two companions. They venture into the highly competitive arena of dog-competitions, meet characters of different demeanours, and even find love in the unlikeliest of places, all the while developing a relationship that only dog lovers really know of.

Everyone in the movie portrays a realistic performance; it’s almost as though this story were really happening. The simplicity is overwhelming and coupled with the cinematography and stark colour contrasts in many of the scenes, director Carlos Sorin has managed to convey his unique sense of style but hasn’t imposed any message or lesson on the audience. You can safely watch this film and take with you the myriad of your own different feelings home whether it be nothingness, gratitude, sadness, or the feeling that showers your entire body when you realise that you can, after all, handle every curve-ball life throws at you and still have time to watch a feel-good movie such as this!

5 out of 6 stars