The Angel

Released Nov 9, 2018

1h 59m

Crime

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

73%

56 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A teenager embarks on a murderous crime spree with a friend he hopes to impress.

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Critics Consensus

As unsettling as it is entertaining, El ángel takes an absorbingly stylish look at the horrific exploits of a real-life serial killer.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

The form and content never really jibe, but this might get under your skin anyway.

Mar 23, 2020

Full Review

Jamie Dunn

Sight & Sound

Ortega's energetic style means the character's hedonistic crime spree is never less than luridly entertaining.

Jan 13, 2020

Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Too little of "El Angel" escapes a second-hand, been-there, killed-that feeling.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 10, 2019

Full Review

Victor Pineyro

Seventh Art Studio

Amazing initial sequence and music. The film centers so much on its main character that sometimes forgets about the story, still extremely captivating. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Aug 30, 2020

Full Review

Matt Cipolla

Film Monthly

The film makes it clear about a third of the way through that it's interested in the 'how' instead of the 'why.' It's just that the 'how' isn't fascinating.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 25, 2020

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Scott Phillips

The Movie Isle

Lorenzo Ferro anchors the film with his portrayal of Carlos Puch, but his performance is beautifully understated.

Jul 24, 2020

Full Review

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Audience Member

After only a few scenes, I retitled this film The Devil in Curls. That is until I searched the movie and realized it was a true crime story concerning Argentinian serial killer, Carlos Robledo Puch (Lorenzo Ferro), who garnered the nickname "The Angel of Death" and "The Black Angel" during his crime-spree in 1971 Buenos Aires. Ferro plays Puch as irresistible, charismatic, and carefree when it comes to the repercussions of his actions — he also has the same baby-face of the real killer. Ferro was intoxicating in his role and I am surprised to see that the actor doesn't even have a wiki page. His IMDB shows his only other credits from a TV show and another film in pre-production. This is a young actor I'm going to keep my eye on. El Ángel is a story of when bad (Chino Darín) meets evil (Ferro). Ramón (Darín) is the tall, dark, and handsome counterpart to Carlos' (or Carlito, as he usually goes by) blond, svelte, mischievousness — together, and with the help of Ramón's parents (Mercedes Morán and Daniel Fanego), they engage in a smorgasbord of criminal activities that tends to end in murder. I'd never heard of Puch before this film, but the RogerEbert.com reviewer states there is no evidence of homosexuality between Puch and Ramón — or Puch whatsoever, for that matter — and did feel like it was included just to add tension and a jealousy element. My single favorite scene was when Carlos reflexively shoots an old man while they're burglarizing his house, and just sort of follow him around his mansion while he bleeds out — Carlos ultimately steals the very cool painting the man stares at before expiring. There are a handful of other excellent scenes — the police force with his parents, the back and forth with the chief, him crying on the train, seemingly the entire freakin' Argentinean army waiting outside the house — that gives the film excellent style and makes it more than just a platform to observe a rising star. A true-crime story you've (likely) never heard of, El Ángel should be added to your watch-list. The film opens with Carlos dancing and ends with Carlos dancing, and even though you now know he's a cold-hearted bastard, ya kinda wanna dance with him.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Es diferente en el hecho de no querer mostrar las matanzas de aquella persona, sino mas bien su vida personal, tiene una buena cinematografía por esos contrastes de colores y en momentos se vuelve graciosa, incluso sin querer, además de muy bien escrita

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There is no actual digging into the whole psychology of El Angel and therefore, the film feels a bit soulless.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

sinceramente para ser cine argentino es una peliculón debido a las buenas actuaciones y que representaron muy fiel mente lo ocurrido en argentina en 1971

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

So I enjoyed how this movie portrays a serial killer. Instead of showing a cool blood serial killer who enjoys killing people, it shows a different serial killer, someone more deluded, unsure of what it's real. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, I watched this movie in bed, on TV, and sick. All of those things probably affected my opinion. Maybe the movie is actually even better or maybe worse, I don't know, but what I am trying to say is that I couldn't experience the movie in the best way. I am from Uruguay and that also makes the movie in some ways better for me. I love how the characters talk, since I talk in similar way. It's cool for me, to see some common expressions of my region in a film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Although sometimes the movie lacks from action for being a story about a serial killer, El Angel brings amazing visuals and a great soundtrack that settles the viewer straight into 1970's Buenos Aires, representing kind of a turnover in the Argentine cinema with a movie style not so typical the country.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

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Luis Ortega

Director

Lorenzo Ferro

Carlitos

Chino Darín

Ramón

Mercedes Morán

Ana María

Daniel Fanego

José

Luis Gnecco

Héctor

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Synopsis

A teenager embarks on a murderous crime spree with a friend he hopes to impress.

Director: Luis Ortega
Producer: Javier Braier, Micaela Buye
Screenwriter: Luis Ortega, Rodolfo Palacios, Sergio Olguín
Distributor: The Orchard
Production Co: The Orchard, El Deseo S.A.
Genre: Crime, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 9, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 22, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.0K
Runtime: 1h 59m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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