El candidato

A ferocious yet exquisite indictment of Argentine politics and societal mores as practised before, during and after the Peronist dictatorship (1946-1955.) NO ONE is spared in this film: not the self-seeking, hungry oligarchs, not the greasy populist thieves who wish to take their place and certainly not the "well-intentioned", or the narcissist who is in denial as to what a banana republic is.

The Argentine class structure is deliriously sent off by a superb cast of character actors who offer truly memorable performances, especially Guillermo Battaglia as the conservative enforcer and Alberto Candeau as the brother-in-law who loves champagne and European embassy sinecures.

If it weren't so sad, this would be one of the funniest movies ever made.

I have to disagree with the other reviewers who want to see humor in this movie, because there is no way that it is funny. It's a piece of social critique, especially of the aristocracy and how they responded to the threat of Peronism. The film shows the establishment party of Torres Ahumada to be absolutely immobilized by the populist program of Bazán (whose name sounds unmistakably like Perón). Torres Ahumada could be a credible candidate because of his past adherence to principles, but his underlings can't resist engaging in corruption. Moreover, Torres Ahumada is dull dull dull. The filmmaker wanted to show how the Argentine establishment was complicit in the rise of Perón, an important message.

The Candidate is quite a dull movie with stereotypes. Anyway, it shows the attitude of writer David Viñas towards Frondizi's government and the Argentine politicians in general. The cast can do very little to save the film that sinks in the middle of boredom

Far from the peronism, in a sort of naive thought intellectuals believed it would never return to Argentina -but it did- they decided to criticize all those who essay new and barren policies. Cinematography is OK but who wants to see a movie only for this item?

On the other hand, it is not possible to see the contradictions of a society that was, again, near an abyss

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