Releases
Tony Manero, a Hard-Hitting Portrait with a Political Backbeat, Opens on SFFS Screen at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas September 11
Story of an Obsessive Social Outcast in 1970s Chile Explores the False Belief That Progress Can Be Achieved by Imitating a Foreign Culture
8/5/2009
Tony Manero (Chile 2008), Pablo Larraín’s penetrating portrait of a man who has forgotten his own history and culture in pursuit of an alien dream of success, opens Friday, September 11 (the anniversary of the 1973 military coup d’état that overthrew the elected president Salvador Allende) on SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.
In Santiago de Chile, 1978, Pinochet’s dictatorship has Chilean citizens coping with a nightly curfew, constant military patrols and the omnipresent threat of violence. In the midst of it, a middle-aged man named Raúl (Alfredo Castro) is obsessed with the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever. On the outskirts of the city, he leads a small group of devoted dancers who have their sights set on an upcoming “Tony look-alike” television competition. Raúl’s immoderate desire to win, coupled with an obsessive need to recreate the glass dance floor from the movie, leads him to commit a series of crimes and thefts and to act increasingly autocratic and cruel with his fellow hoofers. “Shot on 16mm, Tony Manero has a purposefully murky look and a frantic feel. The ultra-Dardenne camera follows Raúl as he darts through Santiago’s empty alleys and vacant lots, only pausing when he raptly watches Saturday Night Fever or attempts to imitate Tony's stomp-and-point rhythmic flailing. Feasting on this bizarre fascist posturing, director Pablo Larraín suggests that, with his sordid charisma, Raúl is a miniature Pinochet—reproducing the brutality of the state in his willingness to steal, exploit, betray and kill in the service of a fantasy.” —J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
Written by Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren, Pablo Larraín. Photographed by Sergio Armstrong. With Alfredo Castro, Paola Lattus, Héctor Morales. In Spanish with English subtitles. 98 min. Distributed by Lorber Films.
For screeners and interviews contact hilary@sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit: http://download.sffs.org/press/02_SFFS_Screen or lorberfilms.
At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets are available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at sundancecinemas.com/kabuki with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members receive discounted admission only to SFFS Screen programs and only at the box office, not online or at the lobby kiosks.
Now playing on SFFS Screen
Lion’s Den A young pregnant woman tries to survive in an Argentinean prison in Pablo Trapero’s story of redemption.
Coming soon to SFFS Screen
September 4: The Beautiful Person Loosely based on a famous 17th-century French novel, Christophe Honoré’s new film tracks an ensemble of Parisian high school students as they navigate through the turbulent imbroglios of young love.
September 18: The Headless Woman Lucrecia Martel, a major figure in contemporary Argentine cinema, directs this complex and exquisite film about a bourgeois woman who may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident.
September 25: You, the Living Roy Andersson continues to display his unique take on humanity in this dryly humorous, surreal and unforgettable amalgamation of encounters and tableaux covering various facets of existence.
For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at sundancecinemas.com.
The San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating film and the moving image.
SFFS Screen, the innovative exhibition partnership with Sundance Cinemas, enables the Film Society to present its acclaimed film programs and events at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas year-round on a daily basis.
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In Santiago de Chile, 1978, Pinochet’s dictatorship has Chilean citizens coping with a nightly curfew, constant military patrols and the omnipresent threat of violence. In the midst of it, a middle-aged man named Raúl (Alfredo Castro) is obsessed with the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever. On the outskirts of the city, he leads a small group of devoted dancers who have their sights set on an upcoming “Tony look-alike” television competition. Raúl’s immoderate desire to win, coupled with an obsessive need to recreate the glass dance floor from the movie, leads him to commit a series of crimes and thefts and to act increasingly autocratic and cruel with his fellow hoofers. “Shot on 16mm, Tony Manero has a purposefully murky look and a frantic feel. The ultra-Dardenne camera follows Raúl as he darts through Santiago’s empty alleys and vacant lots, only pausing when he raptly watches Saturday Night Fever or attempts to imitate Tony's stomp-and-point rhythmic flailing. Feasting on this bizarre fascist posturing, director Pablo Larraín suggests that, with his sordid charisma, Raúl is a miniature Pinochet—reproducing the brutality of the state in his willingness to steal, exploit, betray and kill in the service of a fantasy.” —J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
Written by Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren, Pablo Larraín. Photographed by Sergio Armstrong. With Alfredo Castro, Paola Lattus, Héctor Morales. In Spanish with English subtitles. 98 min. Distributed by Lorber Films.
For screeners and interviews contact hilary@sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit: http://download.sffs.org/press/02_SFFS_Screen or lorberfilms.
At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets are available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at sundancecinemas.com/kabuki with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members receive discounted admission only to SFFS Screen programs and only at the box office, not online or at the lobby kiosks.
Now playing on SFFS Screen
Lion’s Den A young pregnant woman tries to survive in an Argentinean prison in Pablo Trapero’s story of redemption.
Coming soon to SFFS Screen
September 4: The Beautiful Person Loosely based on a famous 17th-century French novel, Christophe Honoré’s new film tracks an ensemble of Parisian high school students as they navigate through the turbulent imbroglios of young love.
September 18: The Headless Woman Lucrecia Martel, a major figure in contemporary Argentine cinema, directs this complex and exquisite film about a bourgeois woman who may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident.
September 25: You, the Living Roy Andersson continues to display his unique take on humanity in this dryly humorous, surreal and unforgettable amalgamation of encounters and tableaux covering various facets of existence.
For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at sundancecinemas.com.
The San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating film and the moving image.
SFFS Screen, the innovative exhibition partnership with Sundance Cinemas, enables the Film Society to present its acclaimed film programs and events at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas year-round on a daily basis.
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