After last week’s dense science, let’s switch to a lighter topic (what a series of alliterations…). When you’re not practicing, watching and analyzing performances, listening to tango music or reading about tango… 😉 You can still engage with tango, perhaps in the form of movies!
Why not declare one of your evenings as a tango movie night? In this post, I’ve compiled several films that I find interesting, beautiful, or both. The focus is not primarily on feature films with tango elements, though you will find a quick list of those as well, but on short and documentary films that might be less known. I’ve grouped them into categories, highlighting one film from each as a teaser—explore them! The films are collected into YouTube playlists by category, accessible by clicking on the title.
This is just a starter selection, with films that have English subtitles. You can find other exciting documentaries in Spanish on YouTube.
Tango Feature Films
This section was realized with the efficient help of Gyuri, as in my 6.5 years of tango, I’ve only managed to check off Scent of a Woman from this list – just over a week ago…
Scent of a Woman
The film that makes us believe the excellent Al Pacino can also tango. And the reason why every wedding couple wants to dance to “Por Una Cabeza” at their wedding. Because that’s the music in the famous scene.
The Tango Lesson
A film by Sally Potter featuring dancers like Pablo Verón, Fabián Salas, and Gustavo Naveira.
And according to some, the dazzling Pablo Verón plays himself. But it doesn’t matter because he’s so good that we don’t mind at all.
Assassination Tango
A 2002 film whose story we can’t quite recall, but with a strong cast: Robert Duvall plays the lead, and he dances a bit better than Al Pacino—we hear he learned tango.
Young Geraldine Rojas also appears in the film, and one of our local Argentine teachers, Lucas Molina Gazcon.
The closing credits are simply amazing. Very impressive.
We won’t delve into when Marlon Brando might appear if two such important characters from The Godfather trilogy (Al Pacino and Robert Duvall) show up. We don’t want to disappoint anyone, but Last Tango in Paris is NOT a tango film. It’s great for many reasons, but none of them are tango.
We would also like to mention two more films: Carlos Saura’s Tango and Tango Bar by Marcos Zurinaga. If you’ve seen them and feel like writing a short summary, we’d love to read it in the comments or a message!
If we’ve piqued your interest and you’d like to dive deeper into the topic of tango and tango-related feature films, we recommend Endre’s three-part, extensive review on his blog: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Dance Short Films
Well, if anyone has a better idea for the name, please share it with me. What are these? A dancing couple performs a number, and it’s recorded. Not a performance, as it’s not tied to an event, but more like a project, or it presents a theme. Sometimes it even introduces the dancers in a portrait-like manner, like Jonathan and Clarisa’s film.
I would also mention the clips by Orquesta Romantica Milonguera and El Cachivache Quinteto (both bands were featured in a previous tango music post), which feature some excellent dancers. The two bands have vastly different styles, so the mood of their clips is also different, but both are flawless—check them out on the bands’ YouTube channels.
Tango Short Films
Here’s the real deal. Van itt animation, milonga mood films, lifelong love stories told through “Cumparsita”. And a humorous self-discovery in tango metaphorically depicted through lingerie shopping.
In the picture, a frame from Aurélia Vasconcelos’ short animation to Tim Garland’s “Passion For Tango”, which you can watch by clicking the link.
Tango Documentaries and Conversations
Oh, there’s a lot here! Fascinating conversations with big names like Mariano Chicho Frumboli, who has influenced generations of dancers, and legends like Alberto Podestá, one of the greatest tango singers. Plus, some truly remarkable, feature-length documentaries. All are available in the playlist in their original language, but I’ve linked English subtitles for them.
Si Sos Brujo: Una Historia De Tango: How does one become a tango musician? You start playing an instrument, receive classical music training, practice, and perfect your skills. But how do you learn the characteristic styles of golden age orchestras in an era when you can’t just join a famous orchestra to pick up the tricks? This is what young Argentine double bassist Ignacio Varchausky sought to answer around the turn of the millennium. The film follows his journey, leading to the foundation of the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce, a tango orchestra training school where students learn the nuances from the last living members of legendary golden age orchestras. Subtitles here.
Yo no sé qué me han hecho tus ojos: A beautiful vals first recorded by the legendary singer Ada Falcón with Francisco Canaro. The film tells her remarkably eventful life story. The filmmakers even found her in a nursing home after years of no one knowing her whereabouts. Subtitles here.
Un Tango Más: A 2015 documentary about the work and relationship of Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves, who played a crucial role in the revival of tango. Copes’ contribution to the creation of the tango show genre is irreplaceable. From the late 1950s, they toured the world, while their relationship spanned from love to marriage, breakup, and hatred. Subtitles here.
Tengo una Pregunta para Vos, Pepa Palazon, a popular Buenos Aires milonga organizer’s interview series with prominent and influential tango figures. All episodes are available in a playlist on her YouTube channel, most with English subtitles—take your time 🙂
Bonus: Did you know that Ástor Piazzolla wrote a tango opera titled María de Buenos Aires? It premiered in Buenos Aires in 1968, with the title role played by Amelita Baltar, who had mainly sung folk songs until then. Here you can a short part.
If you’d like to add to the lists, feel free to write, and we’ll happily expand them!
