Adios Buenos Aires is a love story to both Buenos Aires and its soundtrack, the Tango and the Bandoneon. Director Germán Kral’s native city with its melancholic vibe and almost dreamy urban vistas permeate every scene.
Julio Faerber is the story’s hero, with puppy-dog-sadness in his blue eyes and a sheepish smile. We see him seemingly accept his fate, a life that is ever more difficult to navigate when the film opens. The musician plays his bandoneon in a small band with his pals (Carlos Portaluppi, Manuel Vicente, Rafael Spregelburd, Mario Alarcón and Luis Ziembrowski) the afterhours tango band “Vecinos de Pompeya”.
Actor Diego Cremonesi embodies Julio with self-deprecating charm. His hands embrace his instrument as he presses its keys, and slowly lets it expand and compress, creating the distinct sound so central to Argentina’s national dance. Tango emotionally reaches into each corner of the little bar, rings through the city and beyond. Kral shows us the dance-floor with its couples in tight embrace. They move across the room in elegant curves, feet shimmying in their typical Tango-moves.
But music, though so central to life in Buenos Aires, will not offer the five musicians the means to survive in this time of crisis. They need an edge to attract money in this inflation-strapped economy. A retired legendary Tango singer (Alarcón) accepts the offer to join the band. Though he is a bit shaky on his feet, he trades a boring retirement to recap a bit of his lost fame. And soon tango music lovers from long ago hire the band. No matter how shady their wealth, these gigs put food on tables and push moral objections out the door.
The men each survived on little schemes of their own, from theft to gambling. Julio’s secret decision is to stay honest and leave Buenos Aires and start a new life in Germany. And to finally let go of his past. He sells the family’s small shoe shop, tries to convince his mother and daughter to join him. But he is met by resistance at every turn.
The romance is set against a backdrop of the city in chaos, violent protests everywhere against the country’s real economic crisis. Stephan Puchner, Fernando Castets, and German Kral wrote the screenplay, inspired by the real tragic events that shook Argentina in 2001. Adios Buenos Aires makes it hard to say good-bye.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Diego Cremonesi, Marina Bellat, Carlos Portaluppi, Manuel Vicente, Rafael Spregelburd, Mario Alarcón and Luis Ziembrowski
Directed and co-written by: German Kral
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains language
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Opening Date: May 10, 2024
Released in: Select Theaters