Juan José Jusid's career had its ups and downs, but he is responsible for some of the most enduring pictures in Argentinean cinema, of which I will mention _Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación_ (1984) and _Made in Argentina_ (1987). His film debut, _Tute Cabrero_, is simply a gem.
Carlos (Juan Carlos Gené), Luis (Pepe Soriano), and Sergio (Luis Brandoni) work as designers for a corporation called Alfa. Apparently, they get along quite well: they share an office, they joke, they hang out during the weekends; in short, they seem more like friends than coworkers. Everything changes when the boss announces that the company does not need three designers: one of them must go. And the best way to settle things, the boss says, is for the three men themselves to decide who will be the one to leave.
Like Buñuel's _El ángel exterminador_ (1962), _Tute Cabrero_ shows what may happen when human beings are put in a tight spot. Connections lose their value when the main concern is to survive. The title of the film refers to a game in which two players ally themselves against a third one.
Based on a play by Roberto Cossa, the author that produced that other penetrating exploration of the Argentinean psyche that is _La nona_ (made into a film by Héctor Olivera in 1979), _Tute Cabrero_ is not only a compelling story, but also a beautiful piece of filmmaking. The cinematography is unconventionally exquisite, combining as it does shots of Buenos Aires with close ups of the actors, who often--in crucial moments--look directly at the camera. Jusid also uses voice-over interior monologue and flashbacks to illustrate the characters' emotions. The bandoneón tango music completes the picture.
Jusid's next film, _La fidelidad_ (1970), did not reach the heights of _Tute Cabrero_. In fact, though _No toquen a la nena_ (1976) is an excellent comedy that prefigures _Cien veces no debo_ (Alejandro Doria, 1990), it was not in the 70s but in the 80s that Jusid's career took off. He then made a couple of good films in the 90s, but I don't care much for the popular comedies that began with _Un argentino en Nueva York_ (1998). Though quite different from what would follow, _Tute Cabrero_ is one of his best pictures, and a true landmark of Argentinean cinema.
