Synopsis
It's murder on the dance floor...
A man is obsessed with John Travolta's disco dancing character from "Saturday Night Fever".
2008 Directed by Pablo Larraín
A man is obsessed with John Travolta's disco dancing character from "Saturday Night Fever".
杀手夜狂热, Тони Манеро
What do Pablo Larraín and Todd Philips have in common? They sure loved The King of Comedy enough to make similar films adapting the background of the social commentary. However, Larraín did it 11 years before Philips.
Tony Manero is a bleak and jarring chilean film set during Pinochet's dictatorship, it tells Raúl's story, a man obsessed with John Travolta's character and dance moves in Saturday Night Fever. Sounds quirky and even funny, I promise it isn't.
This is a character study about a psychotic man desperate for attention, who's willing to do everything, even killing to fulfill his wishes. There's something very interesting about the glorification of Hollywood culture and specially its impact in latin america, even more the…
The World Is More Than Enough 2: Back To The 30 Countries (10/30 - Chile)
"You're going to end up shitting out a bastard!" is perhaps the single nastiest line I've ever heard (or read) in any film I've ever seen. Marvellous!
Having never seen Saturday Night Fever, I am now slightly scared about seeing it after seeing Tony Manero. This Chilean drama is labelled quite frequently as a black comedy, even though I rarely felt like laughing. It also arrives with a reputation for being quite naughty and also unflinchingly violent but is actually a fair bit tamer than its reputation would suggest. That or I've watched too much violent crap and porn in my life. That'll be it,…
Well now, I... um... wow. Here I was thinking I was set to experience a cute little Chilean comedy about some schlubby loner obsessed with Saturday Night Fever. The reality is... a little different. I'm not going to say anything to preserve the effect for those of you who haven't seen it, but the point where you understand what's going on is so dazzlingly striking that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen until the credits rolled. Alfredo Castro is nothing short of astonishing as the Travolta wannabe, conveying all sorts of emotion with frightening agility. An incredible film, seek it out.
I'll elaborate on this later, but Pablo Larraín does everything right with Tony Manero that Todd Phillips did wrong with Joker.
There's no posturing here, only a raw and brutal portrait of a lack of identity which is forged through the dream of being someone else, resulting in a cold alienated existence. I'm also not going to pretend to have a firm grasp on Chilean history, but the period detailing of this film seems far more lived in and honest than the superficial presentation of an American city from the 80s that Joker gave.
Pablo Larraín hizo Joker 11 años antes y mejor que Todd Phillips.
Raúl Peralta, nuestro protagonista, es un hombre maduro y silencioso con una enfermiza obsesión por Saturday Night Fever, esto lo lleva a imitar a Tony Manero -protagonista de la película de Travolta- en un programa concurso. La dictadura pinochestista y unos bailarines rebeldes que tiene compañeros de pensión no hacen más que empeorar la enfermiza vida de Raúl desde su obsesión hasta su sexualidad. El segundo filme del chileno Larraín nos muestra la vida de un hombre enfermo y violento como la sociedad y la época en la que habitaba. El nulo glamour de la cinta y de Peralta como protagonista, en contraposición a la estilizada aunque dura…
I mean, I'm not terribly fond of Grease either, but I think that's an overreaction.
Pablo Larraín's second film narrows its focus considerably, yet somehow becomes even more ambitious; rather than the presumably autobiographical thoughts on art that make up the intellectual foundations of Fuga, this attempts to diagnose the whole of Chile during the Pinochet years through the lens of one very unsavoury man. Alfredo Castro gives an unforgettable lead performance as Raúl Peralta, a grubby, middle-aged disco obsessive whose determination to be recognised as his neighbourhood's foremost Travolta impersonator leads him to horrifying violence.
As a study of the inner life of a serial killer, Tony Manero ranks only a hair beneath John McNaughton, Shohei Imamura and Fritz…
Passion and obsession can be synonymous with each other. Or, another synonym could be delusion. Pablo Larraín portraits the dark depravity when dreams, false idol illusion, and lack of optimism mix.
Tony Manero, yes that Tony Manero, is about a middle-aged man whose life becomes centered on white suits, John Travolta, and disco attitude in hopes of winning a televised lookalike contest. Much like Saturday Night Fever, the premise sounds light but I can tell you that it is far from it. The film is set during the right-wing authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Chile and left countless searching for an escape. Time and setting are key in demonstrating the story of mental preoccupation during upheaval. Tony Manero shows how far detached we…
Fascinating ugly account of a man, named Raúl, obsessed with Tony Monero from Saturday Night Fever. He goes to the cinema everyday to see the film and mimic John Travolta. Throughout the film Raul engages in amoral and psychotic behavior to get what he wants. His goal in life is to win a contest as Chile’s best Tony Monero. In the backdrop is Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship over Chile, who also commits atrocious acts to get what he wants. The United States notoriously helped install Pinochet into power forcing their will and political ideology on Chile. Raul similarly has given up his Chilean identity to become an American icon. This is an appropriately ugly film aesthetically mirroring the atrocities occurring in Chile. One of the best scenes is a song that describes the death of hope and dreams. If you like going to a dark place watch Tony Manero. As of this review it’s on Netflix in the USA.
Diseased in a way that feels not only tangible, but cultural. A slum dwelling murderer who obsesses over the titular Saturday Night Fever jabroni slaves away to obtain the perfect white suit, the manicured hair, and learn the disco dance moves, all in the name of appearing on a talent show where the top guest continues on next week to compete for 75,000 pesos, and the runner up gets a blender. Meanwhile, General Pinochet's own personal gestapo continue to round up and execute this dangerous small time dreamer's neighbors, exercising seemingly random fascistic power. Imported cinema becomes a gateway to escape, while our gaunt, ghostly Latin Al Pacino - Alfredo Castro's haggard mug resembling a twisted mirror of the American…