Wild Horses (1995 film)
Encyclopedia
Caballos Salvajes is a 1995 Argentine
road movie
directed by Marcelo Piñeyro
and written by Piñeyro and Aída Bortnik
. It stars Héctor Alterio, Leonardo Sbaraglia
, Cecilia Dopazo and Federico Luppi in a cameo appearance
. The film chronicles the five days of two fugitives on the run after robbing a corporation and being targeted by the media
.
who decides to get even with the corporation that stole $15,344 from his family 18 years ago. When confronted by the yuppie
manager, Pedro Mendoza, José threatens to kill himself and orders him to hand in the requested amount of money. In the ensuing chaos, Pedro stumbles upon a drawer holding half a million dollars, and puts it all in the bag. He then asks José to take him hostage
so that the police will not shoot them, and both drive away successfully.
After the robbery, Pedro is confronted with a dilemma: he cannot turn himself in, because the stolen money is laundered money and he will thus have trouble with the mafia
, so he decides to join José on a road trip
to Patagonia
as they run away from police and mafia alike.
On their way to the border they bond and decide to correct those false claims made by the media so as to clear their names and justify their actions. They tape a message and send it to the TV, and on the way to safety they are aided by gas station attendants who view the couple as modern-day Robin Hood
s. They are nicknamed by the press coverage "Los Indomables" (The Untameable). Their car, however, ends wrecked in a river due to a mishap.
They decide to take a bus that will get them closer to the border. Aboard they meet a punk girl, Ana, who steals the bag containing the half million dollars, but promptly returns it when they catch up with her. They decide to let her into their society, and she steals a jeep
for them. The three decide to "return" the money to the people, and rain the half-million on a cheering crowd, keeping only what is necessary for the trip. After that they are on the run again.
"Los Indomables" manage to get to the border after dodging a pursuing helicopter; with the aid of the gas station attendants they avoid road blocks and the two hitmen sent by the mafia, whom they finally encounter and get rid of. Once at the border, they meet with Eusebio, husband to the sister of José's long dead wife. After reconciling with him, he reveals his profession - kept secret throughout the film - to Pedro: horse breeder.
In the final moments of the movie, José bids farewell to Pedro and Ana, who have fallen in love, as they ride away on two horses to the Chile
an border. José then frees all of his horses, and as he sets the last one going is shot in the back by a person offscreen. He dies, and the end is a montage of José's horses running free, and José himself dancing (from a previous scene in the movie) and shouting to the skies how good it feels to feel alive.
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...
road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
directed by Marcelo Piñeyro
Marcelo Piñeyro
Marcelo Piñeyro is an Argentine award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Biography:Born in Buenos Aires, Piñeyro studied cinematography at the University of La Plata's School of Fine Arts...
and written by Piñeyro and Aída Bortnik
Aída Bortnik
Aída Bortnik is an Argentine screenwriter, nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the film La historia oficial .- Career :...
. It stars Héctor Alterio, Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Máximo Sbaraglia is a prominent Argentine film actor, with extensive credits in both Argentina and Spain.He has also worked in Mexico, and was cast in his first English-language role in Red Lights.-Life and work:...
, Cecilia Dopazo and Federico Luppi in a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. The film chronicles the five days of two fugitives on the run after robbing a corporation and being targeted by the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
.
Plot
José is an aging anarchistAnarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
who decides to get even with the corporation that stole $15,344 from his family 18 years ago. When confronted by the yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
manager, Pedro Mendoza, José threatens to kill himself and orders him to hand in the requested amount of money. In the ensuing chaos, Pedro stumbles upon a drawer holding half a million dollars, and puts it all in the bag. He then asks José to take him hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
so that the police will not shoot them, and both drive away successfully.
After the robbery, Pedro is confronted with a dilemma: he cannot turn himself in, because the stolen money is laundered money and he will thus have trouble with the mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
, so he decides to join José on a road trip
Road trip
A road trip is any journey taken on roads, regardless of stops en route. Typically, road trips are long distances traveled by automobile.-Pre-automobile road trips:...
to Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
as they run away from police and mafia alike.
On their way to the border they bond and decide to correct those false claims made by the media so as to clear their names and justify their actions. They tape a message and send it to the TV, and on the way to safety they are aided by gas station attendants who view the couple as modern-day Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
s. They are nicknamed by the press coverage "Los Indomables" (The Untameable). Their car, however, ends wrecked in a river due to a mishap.
They decide to take a bus that will get them closer to the border. Aboard they meet a punk girl, Ana, who steals the bag containing the half million dollars, but promptly returns it when they catch up with her. They decide to let her into their society, and she steals a jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
for them. The three decide to "return" the money to the people, and rain the half-million on a cheering crowd, keeping only what is necessary for the trip. After that they are on the run again.
"Los Indomables" manage to get to the border after dodging a pursuing helicopter; with the aid of the gas station attendants they avoid road blocks and the two hitmen sent by the mafia, whom they finally encounter and get rid of. Once at the border, they meet with Eusebio, husband to the sister of José's long dead wife. After reconciling with him, he reveals his profession - kept secret throughout the film - to Pedro: horse breeder.
In the final moments of the movie, José bids farewell to Pedro and Ana, who have fallen in love, as they ride away on two horses to the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an border. José then frees all of his horses, and as he sets the last one going is shot in the back by a person offscreen. He dies, and the end is a montage of José's horses running free, and José himself dancing (from a previous scene in the movie) and shouting to the skies how good it feels to feel alive.