Funny Dirty Little War
Encyclopedia
Funny Dirty Little War (1983
) is an Argentine
film
. The movie is directed by Héctor Olivera
, and the screenplay was written by Olivera and Roberto Cossa, based on a novel of the same name written by Osvaldo Soriano
. The motion picture was produced by Fernando Ayala
and Luis O. Repetto; and features Federico Luppi, Héctor Bidonde
, Víctor Laplace
, among others. The events of the comedy-drama take place one day in 1974.
political boss in the small countryside village of Colonia Vela. He plots with the county mayor Guglielmini and union leader Reinaldo to get the deputy mayor Ignacio Fuentes out of power, despite Fuentes being an avid peronist and having once worked under Juan Domingo Perón himself.
Fuentes is told that he has to fire his assistant Mateo because of his Marxist sympathies. Yet, Fuentes, despite disagreeing with Marxist ideals himself, refuses because of his absolute stance against caving in to political pressure. This evokes a harsh response from Suprino, who has the police chief intervene. Fuentes, rather than cave in to pressure, arms himself and then barricades himself in the town hall along with his allies and friends; Mateo, Corporal García, Juan, Rodrigo, Moyito and Crazy Ceres.
Suprino orders police intervention, which leads to a massive stand-off between the local police force and Fuentes' men. The counter-Fuentes operation, led by Chief Llanos and Sub-Chief Rossi, initially only consists of attempting to threaten Fuentes into surrendering but soon evolves into a real shootout when members of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, led by Rogelio Almeido, show up and intervene.
During the shootout with the AAA, Moyito is killed and several police officers are wounded, which leads to a temporary ceasefire and a deadlock. Juan sneaks out through the back to look for the local crop duster pilot, Cerviño, in order to convince him to help Fuentes by conducting an aerial attack as a distraction so he can sneak more ammo and explosives round the back.
As night falls, a group of local communist guerrilla youths led by Matilda Gómez gather in an abandoned warehouse and decide to use the conflict as a means to start a civil war and take over the government to turn the country to marxism. They start out by kidnapping Chief Llanos and hold him for a ransom of several tons of explosives and weaponry. Not wanting to give more resources to the communists, Guglielmini abandons Llanos and declares Rossi the new police chief.
Rossi leads a new attack on Fuentes, this time using bulldozers as cover to advance on the town hall. Rodrigo and Crazy Ceres are killed during this attack and Fuentes, García and Mateo are barely saved because Cerviño arrives in the nick of time and sprays pesticides all over the police with his plane, causing them to temporarily disperse.
The guerrilla attacks the local union with a pipe bomb, killing Reinaldo, which prompts the AAA agents to abandon the fight against Fuentes and instead attempt to kill the guerrilla troopers. Famed local radicalist former senator Prudencio Gúzman attempts to negotiate with the communists for Llanos' release, but the peace talks fall through and Llanos is ultimately executed.
The police regroup again and prepare for a third attack. In order to buy some time and distract Rossi, Mateo turns himself in while Fuentes, García and Juan prepare a bomb with the explosives the latter had previously brought in. The police attack continues and when they enter the town hall, the bomb goes off, killing several police officers and giving Fuentes, García and Juan enough time to escape round the back. In retaliation for the bomb, Almeido executes Mateo.
While escaping, Fuentes and García are captured and taken to a local school to be tortured and imprisoned. Juan escapes and is eventually found by the guerrilas, who promise to help free Fuentes and García if Juan later shows them where he keeps his explosives stash.
Juan convinces Cerviño to cause one more diversion with his plane, this time dropping manure on the police and while the police are distracted, Juan and Matilda bust García free. However, due to AAA reinforcments, Juan and Matilda are forced to escape with García alone...leaving Fuentes behind. The AAA and the communists face off in a mass shootout inside the school, which ends with most people on both sides dead.
Cerviño and his plane are followed by one of the few surviving AAA members, who shoots him when he lands. While fleeing from the shootout at the school, Matilda and the other three surviving guerrillas get blown up by Almeido, who finishes them off in a suicide bombing.
Suprino severely beats Fuentes and then Guglielmini tries to talk him into taking the blame for the whole ordeal. When he refuses, Guglielmini and Suprino leave while Rossi executes Fuentes. While leaving town, Suprino realizes Guglielmini plans to frame him for the whole incident and runs him over with his truck before escaping the country.
When morning finally dawns, García and Juan go to Cerviño's house, where they find him wounded but still alive. They tell him that Fuentes won the battle to comfort him and then Cerviño makes them promise to tell Perón about him if he ever returns, after which he dies. After burying Cerviño, Juan and García begin to head into the countryside while discussing the many ways they could convince Perón to return. The song "Mie Buenos Aires Querido" begins to play as the credits start rolling.
, the struggle between the Montoneros political movement and the right-wing Peronist forces.
The Montonero Peronist Movement was an Argentine
left-wing Peronist guerrilla
group, active during the 1970s. Its motto was venceremos ("we will conquer").
After Juan Perón's return from 20 years of exile and the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing Peronism, the Montoneros were expelled from the Justicialist party in May 1974 by Perón. The group was almost completely dismantled in 1977, during Jorge Rafael Videla
's dictatorship.
The motion picture has also been featured at various film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival; the Berlin International Film Festival
; the Cognac Festival du Film Policier, Cognac, France; and the New York New Directors/New Films Festival, New York City
; and others.
, writing for The New York Times
, complimented both the acting, pacing, and Héctor Olivera's directorial style, and wrote, "The film has also been so cannily paced - and is so well acted - that there's never much time to consider larger meanings while the mayhem is going on. Though Funny Dirty Little War ends bleakly, the existence of the film itself - the fact that it could be made at all, and with such style - is ultimately invigorating."
Nominated
1983 in film
-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
) is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. The movie is directed by Héctor Olivera
Héctor Olivera
Héctor Olivera is a film director, producer and screenwriter.He works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, but has contributed to numerous films in the United States.-Biography:...
, and the screenplay was written by Olivera and Roberto Cossa, based on a novel of the same name written by Osvaldo Soriano
Osvaldo Soriano
Osvaldo Soriano, Journalist and writer. Born January 6, 1943 in Mar del Plata, Argentina – died on January 29, 1997 in Buenos Aires.-Biography:...
. The motion picture was produced by Fernando Ayala
Fernando Ayala
Fernando Ayala was an Argentine film producer, film director, screenwriter and film producer of the classic era...
and Luis O. Repetto; and features Federico Luppi, Héctor Bidonde
Héctor Bidonde
Héctor Pastor Bidonde is a noted Argentine theatre, film and television actor.Bidonde was born in La Plata, in 1937. He was a shift worker in a tool & dye factory when, in 1954, he was offered a part in Carlos P. Cabral's play Amarretes...
, Víctor Laplace
Víctor Laplace
Víctor Laplace is an acclaimed Argentine film actor. He has appeared in over 80 films since 1970, such as Eva Perón and Un Amor en Moisés Ville in 2001, as well as extensive local and international theatre credits.-Filmography:#Detrás del sol, más cielo - Antón#Angelelli, la...
, among others. The events of the comedy-drama take place one day in 1974.
Plot
Héctor Suprino is the local PeronistPeronism
Peronism , or Justicialism , is an Argentine political movement based on the programmes associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón...
political boss in the small countryside village of Colonia Vela. He plots with the county mayor Guglielmini and union leader Reinaldo to get the deputy mayor Ignacio Fuentes out of power, despite Fuentes being an avid peronist and having once worked under Juan Domingo Perón himself.
Fuentes is told that he has to fire his assistant Mateo because of his Marxist sympathies. Yet, Fuentes, despite disagreeing with Marxist ideals himself, refuses because of his absolute stance against caving in to political pressure. This evokes a harsh response from Suprino, who has the police chief intervene. Fuentes, rather than cave in to pressure, arms himself and then barricades himself in the town hall along with his allies and friends; Mateo, Corporal García, Juan, Rodrigo, Moyito and Crazy Ceres.
Suprino orders police intervention, which leads to a massive stand-off between the local police force and Fuentes' men. The counter-Fuentes operation, led by Chief Llanos and Sub-Chief Rossi, initially only consists of attempting to threaten Fuentes into surrendering but soon evolves into a real shootout when members of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, led by Rogelio Almeido, show up and intervene.
During the shootout with the AAA, Moyito is killed and several police officers are wounded, which leads to a temporary ceasefire and a deadlock. Juan sneaks out through the back to look for the local crop duster pilot, Cerviño, in order to convince him to help Fuentes by conducting an aerial attack as a distraction so he can sneak more ammo and explosives round the back.
As night falls, a group of local communist guerrilla youths led by Matilda Gómez gather in an abandoned warehouse and decide to use the conflict as a means to start a civil war and take over the government to turn the country to marxism. They start out by kidnapping Chief Llanos and hold him for a ransom of several tons of explosives and weaponry. Not wanting to give more resources to the communists, Guglielmini abandons Llanos and declares Rossi the new police chief.
Rossi leads a new attack on Fuentes, this time using bulldozers as cover to advance on the town hall. Rodrigo and Crazy Ceres are killed during this attack and Fuentes, García and Mateo are barely saved because Cerviño arrives in the nick of time and sprays pesticides all over the police with his plane, causing them to temporarily disperse.
The guerrilla attacks the local union with a pipe bomb, killing Reinaldo, which prompts the AAA agents to abandon the fight against Fuentes and instead attempt to kill the guerrilla troopers. Famed local radicalist former senator Prudencio Gúzman attempts to negotiate with the communists for Llanos' release, but the peace talks fall through and Llanos is ultimately executed.
The police regroup again and prepare for a third attack. In order to buy some time and distract Rossi, Mateo turns himself in while Fuentes, García and Juan prepare a bomb with the explosives the latter had previously brought in. The police attack continues and when they enter the town hall, the bomb goes off, killing several police officers and giving Fuentes, García and Juan enough time to escape round the back. In retaliation for the bomb, Almeido executes Mateo.
While escaping, Fuentes and García are captured and taken to a local school to be tortured and imprisoned. Juan escapes and is eventually found by the guerrilas, who promise to help free Fuentes and García if Juan later shows them where he keeps his explosives stash.
Juan convinces Cerviño to cause one more diversion with his plane, this time dropping manure on the police and while the police are distracted, Juan and Matilda bust García free. However, due to AAA reinforcments, Juan and Matilda are forced to escape with García alone...leaving Fuentes behind. The AAA and the communists face off in a mass shootout inside the school, which ends with most people on both sides dead.
Cerviño and his plane are followed by one of the few surviving AAA members, who shoots him when he lands. While fleeing from the shootout at the school, Matilda and the other three surviving guerrillas get blown up by Almeido, who finishes them off in a suicide bombing.
Suprino severely beats Fuentes and then Guglielmini tries to talk him into taking the blame for the whole ordeal. When he refuses, Guglielmini and Suprino leave while Rossi executes Fuentes. While leaving town, Suprino realizes Guglielmini plans to frame him for the whole incident and runs him over with his truck before escaping the country.
When morning finally dawns, García and Juan go to Cerviño's house, where they find him wounded but still alive. They tell him that Fuentes won the battle to comfort him and then Cerviño makes them promise to tell Perón about him if he ever returns, after which he dies. After burying Cerviño, Juan and García begin to head into the countryside while discussing the many ways they could convince Perón to return. The song "Mie Buenos Aires Querido" begins to play as the credits start rolling.
Cast
- Federico Luppi as Ignacio Fuentes
- Miguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel Solá is a prolific Argentine actor who has made over 60 film appearances in film and TV in Argentina since 1973....
as Juan - Julio de Grazia as Corporal Garcia
- Ulises DumontUlises DumontUlises Dumont was a prolific Argentine film actor, credited with over 80 appearances in film and countless others in theatre and television from 1964 until his death in 2008.-Life and work:...
as Cerviño - Lautaro MurúaLautaro MurúaLautaro Murúa was a Chilean-born Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is one of the best known actors in the Cinema of Argentina....
as Mayor Guglielmini - Héctor BidondeHéctor BidondeHéctor Pastor Bidonde is a noted Argentine theatre, film and television actor.Bidonde was born in La Plata, in 1937. He was a shift worker in a tool & dye factory when, in 1954, he was offered a part in Carlos P. Cabral's play Amarretes...
as Suprino - Rodolfo Ranni as Police Chief Llanos
- Raul Rizzo as Sub-Chief Rossi
- Luis Martínez Rusconi as Rogelio Almeido
- Emilio Vidal as Reinaldo
- Victor LaplaceVíctor LaplaceVíctor Laplace is an acclaimed Argentine film actor. He has appeared in over 80 films since 1970, such as Eva Perón and Un Amor en Moisés Ville in 2001, as well as extensive local and international theatre credits.-Filmography:#Detrás del sol, más cielo - Antón#Angelelli, la...
as Prudencio Gúzman - Alicia Baistrocchi as Matilda Gómez
- José María Lopez as Mateo
- Arturo MalyArturo MalyArturo Maly was a Silver Condor award winning Argentine actor....
as Toto - Graciela Dufau as Mrs. Fuentes
Basis of film
The film is based on a real political events that took place in Argentina in the mid 1970s. The film depicts, sub silentioSub silentio
Sub silentio is legal latin meaning "under silence." It is often used as a reference to something that is implied but not expressly stated."...
, the struggle between the Montoneros political movement and the right-wing Peronist forces.
The Montonero Peronist Movement was an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
left-wing Peronist guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
group, active during the 1970s. Its motto was venceremos ("we will conquer").
After Juan Perón's return from 20 years of exile and the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing Peronism, the Montoneros were expelled from the Justicialist party in May 1974 by Perón. The group was almost completely dismantled in 1977, during Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo is a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'état that deposed Isabel Martínez de Perón...
's dictatorship.
Distribution
Funny Dirty Little War first opened in Argentina on September 22, 1983.The motion picture has also been featured at various film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival; the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
; the Cognac Festival du Film Policier, Cognac, France; and the New York New Directors/New Films Festival, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and others.
Critical reception
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
, writing for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, complimented both the acting, pacing, and Héctor Olivera's directorial style, and wrote, "The film has also been so cannily paced - and is so well acted - that there's never much time to consider larger meanings while the mayhem is going on. Though Funny Dirty Little War ends bleakly, the existence of the film itself - the fact that it could be made at all, and with such style - is ultimately invigorating."
Awards
Wins- Berlin International Film Festival34th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 17 to February 28, 1984.-Jury:* Liv Ullmann * Jules Dassin* Edward Bennett* Manuela Cernat-Gheorghiu* Lana Gogoberidze* Tullio Kezich* Steffen Kuchenreuther...
: Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et Essai Juries (C.I.C.A.E.) Award; International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
) Prize; Silver Berlin Bear, Special Jury PrizeJury Grand PrixThe Jury Grand Prix is a Silver Bear award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition...
; 1984. - Cognac Festival du Film Policier: Grand Prix; 1985.
Nominated
- Berlin International Film Festival: Golden Berlin Bear; 1984.
External links
- No habrá más penas ni olvido at the cinenacional.comCinenacional.comCinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema.The site provides a vast array of information, including: films, television programs, directors, actors, cinematographers, film editors, production designers, and other production professions in Argentina...