"The Dark Side of the Heart," a fierce and divine comedy, may not be on any list of the greatest films of all time, but this Argentine masterwork of poetic surrealism and erotic irreverence more than belongs there.
Bunuel himself may have wept with envy in movie-god heaven when this brilliant comedy was released in 1992, but if he didn't, he should have.
Oliverio, a madman poet and seducer extraordinaire is in bed with his latest conquest, as the film begins, saying, "It matters not if (you) wake up in the morning with a breath like insecticide or an aphrodisiac, or if (your) skin feels like a peach or sandpaper....but on no account will I forgive a woman who cannot fly." At that, he disappears her down a trap door hidden on the bed. I suspect every man in the audience wept with joy. I certainly did.
The poet, played by the wonderful Dario Grandinetti, stalks the streets of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, with a billowing cape, searching for ideal love, and when he finally finds it with the magnificent Sandra Ballesteros, like discovering Shakespeare's sonnets the first time, she is a puta with a heart like a steel bank who is always searching for the ideal $100 trick. At one point, he tears out his heart for her as she feasts on it briefly then casually throws it away. I suspect every man in the audience wept for him. I certainly did.
Eventually they have the greatest love scene of all time, while levitating, naturally, but his time runs out as she gets ready for her next customer. I suspect every man in the audience wept with deja vu. I certainly did.
Eliseo Subiela's direction ("Man Facing Southeast") offers sublimely moody imagery of bravura originality, including that love scene of visual splendor, which lingers long in the mind's eye of the heart. "The Dark Side of the Heart," also a spot-on political allegory,is available on DVD at Netflicks. Miss it at your peril.
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Bunuel himself may have wept with envy in movie-god heaven when this brilliant comedy was released in 1992, but if he didn't, he should have.
Oliverio, a madman poet and seducer extraordinaire is in bed with his latest conquest, as the film begins, saying, "It matters not if (you) wake up in the morning with a breath like insecticide or an aphrodisiac, or if (your) skin feels like a peach or sandpaper....but on no account will I forgive a woman who cannot fly." At that, he disappears her down a trap door hidden on the bed. I suspect every man in the audience wept with joy. I certainly did.
The poet, played by the wonderful Dario Grandinetti, stalks the streets of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, with a billowing cape, searching for ideal love, and when he finally finds it with the magnificent Sandra Ballesteros, like discovering Shakespeare's sonnets the first time, she is a puta with a heart like a steel bank who is always searching for the ideal $100 trick. At one point, he tears out his heart for her as she feasts on it briefly then casually throws it away. I suspect every man in the audience wept for him. I certainly did.
Eventually they have the greatest love scene of all time, while levitating, naturally, but his time runs out as she gets ready for her next customer. I suspect every man in the audience wept with deja vu. I certainly did.
Eliseo Subiela's direction ("Man Facing Southeast") offers sublimely moody imagery of bravura originality, including that love scene of visual splendor, which lingers long in the mind's eye of the heart. "The Dark Side of the Heart," also a spot-on political allegory,is available on DVD at Netflicks. Miss it at your peril.
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