Señal, La (2007)

Directors:

Ricardo Darín
Martin Hodara

Writers:

Patricio Vega (Escritura adicional) and
Eduardo Mignogna (writer)

Release Date:

13 September 2007 (Argentina)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

During the last days of Eva Peron, a pair of low-ranking detectives are thrust into a case of corruption involving the Mafia. |

Awards:

14 nominations

Cast

Ricardo Darín	...	Corvalán
Diego Peretti	...	Santana
Julieta Díaz	...	Gloria
Andrea Pietra	...	Perla
Vando Villamil	...	El chofer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlos Bardem

Also Known As:

The Signal (Europe: English title) (festival title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Argentina | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Fénix

Trivia:

Writer-director Eduardo Mignogna passed away while he was planning to start production on this film with Ricardo Darín starring. To honor his memory, Darín took over the project and is making his directorial debut with it.

Predictable, confusing and poorly tapped

This is the second Argentine Noir film I see this year (along with "The Mudboy") but I think this film has been completely overrated, that leaves much to desired, argumentative but also artistically.

The film is basically what we all know form a Noir film: a depressed and decadent detective which nevertheless shows great aptitude for the work; the lady in troubles, rich and mysterious that always seems to be hiding more than what she says, the always loyal and always more optimistic companion and of course "The Mafia," but what I say! If even the junior assistant who handled the car and reveals the photographs appears, well I have seen this on every film of this kind, no surprises here nor will be ahead in the movie. But then the rest of the film is a lot of confusion and turns of the plot quite clumsy, as, for example, the main character that is shown to us as a very Shrewd men and suddenly becomes nothing else but a clueless fool.

I believe, however, that the worst sin is perhaps not to take the chance to portray Argentine society in those troubled years, with all that money spent in all those cars an costumes.

The end is really surprising, but not because we do not expect that kind of end but, I think, because it is surprising that all ends there.

I think the movie tries to show how facts from the standpoint of the main character no matter if the doubts are clear or not.

But leaves you with more questions than answers and the impression that the film bite more of what could chew and in the end you keep specking what it is never going to come.

Best luck next time for Darin, which by the way gave a good performance but at times it felt into the confusion of his character, Peretti was relatively well in his semi-comic sidekick, but Julieta Diaz steals the screen with a character very much in his step, no vulnerable blonds but a center-minded passionate Brunette.