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Rojo

Released Jul 12, 2019 1h 49m Drama Mystery & Thriller List
96% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In the 1970s, a successful lawyer in Argentina has his life unravel when a private detective arrives in town and starts asking tough questions.
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Rojo

Rojo

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Critics Consensus

A pitch-black thriller with uncommon wit and sophistication, Rojo tells a story as rich and evocative as the deepest shade of its title color.

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Critics Reviews

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Amy Nicholson FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) Deadpan [and] very funny even though you feel uncomfortable laughing. Oct 2, 2019 Full Review Ela Bittencourt Hyperallergic Dario Grandinetti's riveting performance as the vaguely menacing yet bureaucratic Claudio is a reminder that repulsive or unfathomable characters can be as fascinating as likable ones. Sep 26, 2019 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) The film does not serve up its ideas in easily digestible bites. The audience needs to work with a dislocated string of scenes that sometimes highlight absurdity, sometimes violence and frequently say very little at all. Rated: 4/5 Sep 7, 2019 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine It was an impressively fervid work, but nothing about it suggested that, given the opportunity to scale up, Naishtat would take it easy on the audience. Jan 5, 2023 Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site The movie's eerie, ominous atmosphere is legitimate, but can't substitute itself for historical concreteness. Aug 6, 2020 Full Review Joseph Pomp Hyperallergic Rojo pulsates both with the motif of blood and the subtly indelible image of a solar eclipse, when an orb blots out the sun, obscuring all but its deep red edges. Feb 26, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Matthew R This obviously highbrow film made no sense to my simple proletariat mind. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/26/23 Full Review Jason R Just no. https://uberscaryblog.blogspot.com/2022/11/when-everybody-is-silent-no-one-is.html Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/24/23 Full Review neil r Once again, I have no idea why the "critics" raved about this. Do they see a different film to us? I guess they aren't looking for basics such as "a well-told story". It's okay but you would not recommend it to a friend. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member .Español /English A través de la historia de un abogado (a cargo de Darío Grandinetti) frente a un suceso inesperado, Benjamín Naishtat articula un potente policial político y un verdadero ensayo sociológico sobre las miserias de un pueblo de una provincia innominada de la Argentina en 1975 y su aparente normalidad en una etapa turbulenta de su historia. Y con una gran cinematografía. Through the story of a lawyer (led by Darío Grandinetti) facing an unexpected event, Benjamín Naishtat articulates a powerful political policeman and a true sociological essay on the miseries of a town in an unnamed province of Argentina in 1975 and its apparent normality at a turbulent stage in its history. And with great cinematography. .................................................................................................................................... Corre el año 1975. Claudio (Darío Grandinetti) es el Doctor, un abogado de prestigio de un pueblo en una provincia innominada de Argentina, casado con Susana (Andrea Frigerio) y con un hija adolescente. Un tenso incidente con un extraño (Diego Cremonesi) en un restaurante del pueblo será el primero de una serie de eventos que pondrán en cuestión la calma del Doctor. En realidad, la primera escena de la película es otra, un potente plano fijo sobre una casa, en una escena de enorme elocuencia. Para quienes no lo saben, o no lo recuerdan, en 1975 gobernaba Isabel Perón y ya la Argentina estaba asolada por los secuestros y asesinatos de la Triple A (Alianza Anticomunista Argentina), una organización parapolicial vinculada al Gobierno, en un verdadero anticipo de lo que sería el terrorismo de estado instaurado por la dictadura cívico-militar que derrocó a Isabel en 1976. Rojo es un film notable y perturbador. Su trama sufre una aparente deriva por situaciones que parecen inconexas pero que en realidad se integran en una poderosa e implacable radiografía de una época: la violencia (a veces dejada fuera de campo), las desapariciones, el despojo, el saqueo de las víctimas, la estafa, el silencio, la impostura, la impunidad. Pero todo bajo una capa de aparente normalidad y en el marco de una provincia intervenida para "restaurarla". La película de Naishtat podría definirse como un policial negro sociológico y político. Cada escena es un apunte necesario (y jamás subrayado) sobre el cuadro general, incluida la lograda escena en una playa de Mar del Plata. Desde lo formal, la recreación fílmica de la época es notable, con ese tono entre desteñido y sepia que domina la fotografía y sus títulos rojos. Hay un gran uso de los planos fijos y de hermosos planos generales en locaciones desérticas. Muy buena actuación de Grandinetti, mientras que la aparente sobreactuación de un personaje que aparece luego a cargo de Alfredo Castro (el actor de Tengo miedo torero), también tiene su justificación. No podía estar ausente el dispositivo escolar en esta historia, cuando una profesora (Susana Pampín) ensaya con la hija de Claudio y otros compañeros la danza Los Salvajes de la ópera Las Indias Galantes de Rameau (un lujo de la banda sonora) para un acto escolar y lo que dice para ponerlos en situación para la escena, en lo que constituye una inquietante puesta en abismo. ...................................................................................................................................... It is 1975. Claudio (Darío Grandinetti) is the Doctor, a prestigious lawyer from a town in an unnamed province of Argentina, married to Susana (Andrea Frigerio) and with a teenage daughter. A tense incident with a stranger (Diego Cremonesi) in a town restaurant will be the first in a series of events that will call into question the Doctor's calm. Actually, the first scene of the film is another, a powerful fixed shot over a house, in a scene of enormous eloquence. For those who do not know, or do not remember, in 1975 Isabel Perón ruled and Argentina was already devastated by the kidnappings and murders of the Triple A (Alianza Anticomunista Argentina), a parapolice organization linked to the Government, in a true advance of what that it would be state terrorism established by the civil-military dictatorship that overthrew Isabel in 1976. Red is a remarkable and disturbing film. Its plot suffers an apparent drift by situations that seem disconnected but that in reality are integrated into a powerful and implacable X-ray of an era: violence (sometimes left out of the field), disappearances, dispossession, looting of the victims, the swindle, the silence, the imposture, the impunity. But all under a layer of apparent normality and within the framework of a province intervened to "restore" it. Naishtat's film could be defined as a sociological and political black cop. Each scene is a necessary note (and never underlined) on the general picture, including the successful scene on a beach in Mar del Plata. From the formal point of view, the filmic recreation of the time is remarkable, with that tone between faded and sepia that dominates photography and its red titles. There is a great use of still shots and beautiful wide shots in desert locations. Grandinetti's very good performance, while the apparent over-acting of a character who later appears in charge of Alfredo Castro (the actor from I'm afraid of a bullfighter), also has its justification. The school device could not be absent in this story, when a teacher (Susana Pampín) rehearses with Claudio's daughter and other classmates the dance Los Salvajes from the opera Las Indias Galantes by Rameau (a luxury of the soundtrack) for an act school and what he says to put them in position for the scene, in what constitutes a disturbing stagin Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review William L Rojo is a mixed bag - on the one hand, the film maintains a valid portrayal of a society (specifically, its middle class) that maintains the appearances of stability and reason even as it becomes more and more apparent that cracks are gradually developing in the facade, and a bubbling cauldron of unrest lies beneath. On the other hand, the subplots feel inconsistent (the adolescent romance in particular) and the tension doesn't feel oppressing even when intended, but perhaps the latter is in part due to the language barrier and the need to interpret dialogue through subtitles. Perhaps there is some clever social commentary or historical context that I'm missing to tie some of these pieces together. The film still has a clear overarching voice that deserves commendation, though. (3/5) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/23/22 Full Review Audience Member no me gusto nada,de las peores peliculas que vi ultimamente 2/10 Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Rojo

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the 1970s, a successful lawyer in Argentina has his life unravel when a private detective arrives in town and starts asking tough questions.
Director
Benjamín Naishtat
Producer
Emmanuel Chaumet, Federico Eibuszyc, Barbara Sarasola-Day, Marleen Slot, Ingmar Trost, Dan Wechsler, Jamal Zeinal Zade, Rachel Daisy Ellis
Screenwriter
Benjamín Naishtat
Distributor
Distrib Films
Production Co
Sutor Kolonko, Bord Cadre Films, Pucara Cine, Ecce Films
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 12, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 8, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$91.2K
Runtime
1h 49m
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