El viaje

This is not a comment, this is a warning. My personal ranking (1,350 movies) sets this one at the bottom. I could talk about its pointless story, lack of good actors, no script at all, boring and stupid political satire, overcooked surrealism, corny dialogs, etc. I am plenty of reasons. But the most important of them deserves an explanation: This films is a landmark in my record as a movie snob because I chose working instead of watching a movie. A took an unauthorized break in my job and came to the theater. I chose "El Viaje" because at that time -early '90- Solanas was at least his own legend. Well, after 50 minutes of torture I returned to my job, hopeless, depressed and angry. After that, I promise to myself not to watch a Solanas'movie never, never in my life. Nevermore. And I kept my promise.

This Argentine surrealist political road movie by Pino Solanas is nothing less than one of the greatest achievements in cinema history. Besides politically important as part of the filmmaker's agenda against neoberal antipopular and antidemocratic prey, it is extremely innovative in the way it makes idiomatic expressions effectively happen in the story, together with amusing and intriguing allegoric characters whose very existence means different traits of Latin American endurace and identity. Besides that, it has a brilliant sarcastic text, a wonderful cinematography and art direction, and brings various parts of the continent as a single people who need to be together in order to make the utopia be turned into reality. I watched this film three times, only the second out of the big screen (precisely the only one I did not feel it as awesome, but just as good). This third time happened two decades after the first one, making me feel astonished again. Solana's masterpiece is gorgeous, beautiful both visually and in its very concept.

"El viaje" is a simple movie. But it has the most precise look of Argentine's reality at the beginning of the nineties. Pay special attention to the tragicomic representation of Carlos Menem, by Carlos Carella. If people would have paid more attention, maybe Argentina would have been a better place today. Sad to see it now.

It's one of those movies that has a special place in my heart. I can't remember how many times I've watched it over and over again. I watched my own search and struggle in this movie when I was young. The ending of the movie affected me a lot.

The political history of Argentina is very similar to the country I live in. That's why the political issues mentioned are very familiar. I also find the main character's experiences very similar to my own. The ending of the movie is perfect and yes, the search will never end, that void inside us will never close.

If you like road movies, you need to watch this movie.