"Crónica..." is another great movie from one of our greatest directors. It depicts with poetry and simplicity the reality of a lonely boy, marginal from the system that is supposed to protect and educate, and instead only brutalizes him. As always, Favio is great finding poetic symbols to express things; the most notable in this movie, the horse at the end, representing the future of this child which, probably, ultimately has none.
5 Reviews
Polin and a Glimpse of Freedom
thinker16911 June 2005
From the harsh reality and black and white existence of the 1950's comes this somber tale of a young boy imprisoned in the bleak world of Argentinian totalitarianism. Directed by Leonardo Favio, the film "Chronical of a Boy Alone " offers a brief visit to the sterile life of Polin, a boy abandoned by both family and society who briefly escapes to freedom. Polin exists in the day to day world of poverty and violence. Within the confines of a state run orphanage, he experiences both the indifference of the authorities and his peers. Friends are a hindrance and family a tiny island in a sea of despair. The film is in black and white as was life in the 1950s'. Brief nudity. ****
Moving if odd
Decadeca26 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
It's rather sad that this film will nowadays probably be negatively and superficially judged based on the scenes by the river (despite the largely careful modest positioning of the characters). If like for many readers/viewers here, the setting of this film is distant to you both in time and geography, then perhaps we are not in a position to judge it harshly in this way from where we are seated.
As has been said elsewhere, this central section of the film does boldly highlight the contrast between Polín's time of virtual incarceration at the start and his freedoms outside before all starts to go wrong - starting with what happens to his friend. The fact that it is not made clear to us exactly what may or may not have happened to him only makes it worse in our minds. A bitter-sweet piece of music appears in the soundtrack at this point and for me is the one thing that sticks in the mind the most. Its melancholy nature serves to underline everything that happens by the end which is marked by his brief resigned stare into the viewers' eyes.
Despite some confusingly meandering plotting, a (technically) poor-quality soundtrack and incomplete and strangely-translated subtitles, this remains a film that will stick with you thanks to its being moving and carrying an emotional impact.
The name Polín is a short form of Hipolito which is derived from the Greek name Hippolytus. Given the end of the film, it is perhaps no coincidence that the name means "unleasher of horses" and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, "destroyed by horses".
As has been said elsewhere, this central section of the film does boldly highlight the contrast between Polín's time of virtual incarceration at the start and his freedoms outside before all starts to go wrong - starting with what happens to his friend. The fact that it is not made clear to us exactly what may or may not have happened to him only makes it worse in our minds. A bitter-sweet piece of music appears in the soundtrack at this point and for me is the one thing that sticks in the mind the most. Its melancholy nature serves to underline everything that happens by the end which is marked by his brief resigned stare into the viewers' eyes.
Despite some confusingly meandering plotting, a (technically) poor-quality soundtrack and incomplete and strangely-translated subtitles, this remains a film that will stick with you thanks to its being moving and carrying an emotional impact.
The name Polín is a short form of Hipolito which is derived from the Greek name Hippolytus. Given the end of the film, it is perhaps no coincidence that the name means "unleasher of horses" and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, "destroyed by horses".
Bleak picture of one poor young boy's life in 1960's Argentina
Havan_IronOak30 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Polin escapes from a juvenile corrections center and makes his way to his home in a Buenos Aires slum, only to be caught again by the police.
In his day of freedom, he steals some cash from a sleeping bus-rider; goes skinny-dipping with the local children; observes some almost "lord of the flies" cruelty among his peers; watches as his home slum deals with an accidental death;smokes innumerable cigarettes; peeks in on a local whore servicing the men of the slum; and ends up "liberating" an old cart horse before being re-apprehended.
While I've never been a fan of neorealism in film, I've been aware of this film since the early 1980's. At that time it was distributed by Award Films, an outfit that bravely distributed a number of films featuring homosexual themes and child nudity.
This film paints a bleak picture of life among poor young boys growing up in the "mean streets" of 1960's Argentina.
I finally mustered the stamina to sit through it from the beginning to end, only 79 minutes. In trying to describe the film, I find myself searching for synonyms for bleak. While the film is not exactly barren, all of the antonyms I encounter; appealing, bright, comfortable, pleasant, all describe what is lacking in this film. I'm convinced that this film owes what success it has had in some small part to the truth it shows, but in large part to the youthful appeal of its young subjects and the nudity which is liberally included.
I wonder if this film were re-released in this more jaded age, if it might not simply be subtitled, "Naked Boys Swimming" and sell as well.
In his day of freedom, he steals some cash from a sleeping bus-rider; goes skinny-dipping with the local children; observes some almost "lord of the flies" cruelty among his peers; watches as his home slum deals with an accidental death;smokes innumerable cigarettes; peeks in on a local whore servicing the men of the slum; and ends up "liberating" an old cart horse before being re-apprehended.
While I've never been a fan of neorealism in film, I've been aware of this film since the early 1980's. At that time it was distributed by Award Films, an outfit that bravely distributed a number of films featuring homosexual themes and child nudity.
This film paints a bleak picture of life among poor young boys growing up in the "mean streets" of 1960's Argentina.
I finally mustered the stamina to sit through it from the beginning to end, only 79 minutes. In trying to describe the film, I find myself searching for synonyms for bleak. While the film is not exactly barren, all of the antonyms I encounter; appealing, bright, comfortable, pleasant, all describe what is lacking in this film. I'm convinced that this film owes what success it has had in some small part to the truth it shows, but in large part to the youthful appeal of its young subjects and the nudity which is liberally included.
I wonder if this film were re-released in this more jaded age, if it might not simply be subtitled, "Naked Boys Swimming" and sell as well.
Interesting but hard to understand at first
ninoguapo18 November 2006
The movie was interesting , trough I admit that the main ideas was missed by me while watching it. The comments posted previously in IMDb helped me to sort some things out. The version I watched was not that good in terms of quality , but still the movie itself seemed to me like a earlier version of " Bad Education " - trough it has its own uniquenesses .
Some of the scenes were very meaningful - starting from the first one on which we see the stairs and the boy standing alone in the middle. The movie really does a good job showing how brutal some adults could be - and that locking people out probably is not the best solution - especially for youth.
There were scenes in which you can't see what is happening - but the previous ones and the ones to follow provide ideas and the viewer imagination could make up for that. I personally liked that.
Some of the scenes were very meaningful - starting from the first one on which we see the stairs and the boy standing alone in the middle. The movie really does a good job showing how brutal some adults could be - and that locking people out probably is not the best solution - especially for youth.
There were scenes in which you can't see what is happening - but the previous ones and the ones to follow provide ideas and the viewer imagination could make up for that. I personally liked that.
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