Good idiosyncratic, and even regional films are usually given very high rating by persons that understand the language spoken in them, and the culture they portray. Other persons –especially those who speak a different language, and belong to another country and/or culture– seem rather baffled by those films, even if they recognize them as good artifacts: the productions are fine, some exceptional. In my opinion, what really counts is what these motion pictures tell to their target audiences. This is the case with "El perro", a film that is better appreciated by those who speak Spanish, and even more by those who understand what it depicts, and what it means to be deprived of the essential conditions to live with dignity. When we are born with material things guaranteed, even in a lower class milieu with the minimum comfort, we are somehow blinded to the harsh aspects of existence that confronts a large part of the world's population (not to mention the planet itself). This film exposes the audiences to a few of these aspects, with care and affection. In the hard socioeconomic conditions that Argentina has lived in recent years, the film tells the story of an unemployed mechanic –who fabricates very beautiful knives to make some money– that receives a dog (a Dogo called Bombón) as a gift, an event that does not bring him great material wealth, but that brings him new perspectives, new friends, new hopes for his existence. Acted by non-professionals, they were directed by a man who used to make advertising spots. Carlos Sorín –responsible for the 1986 Argentine classic "La película del rey"– is one of the best Argentinean filmmakers of the late 20th century, who was able to make a transition for the best in our times. Recommended.
Review of Bombón: El Perro
