La novela del escritor argentino Alan Pauls fue llevada al cine por el director Héctor Babenco.
El film se exhibirá en México, Brasil y Argentina después de hacerlo en Canadá para el Toronto Film Festival.
Technical Information
Country: Argentina/Brazil
Year: 2007
Language: Spanish
Runtime: 114 minutes
Format: Colour/35mm
Cast & Crew
Production Company: K&S Films S.A/HB Filmes Ltda.
Producer: Oscar Kramer, Hugo Sigman, Héctor Babenco
Screenplay: Héctor Babenco, Marta Goes, based on the novel by Alan Pauls
Cinematographer: Ricardo Della Rosa
Editor: Gustavo Giani
Production Designer: Sebastian Orgambide
Sound: Romeo Quinto Junior, Mirian Biderman, Ricardo Reis
Music: Ivan Wyszogrod
Principal Cast: Gael García Bernal, Analia Couceyro, Ana Celentano, Moro Anghileri
Film Description and Director Biography
Héctor Babenco is one of Latin America’s most prolific filmmakers, and his output has contributed greatly to the canon of cinema from that region. From his portrayal of the mistreatment of street children in Pixote, the Law of the Weakest, to his tender adaptation of Manuel Puig’s novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, to his depiction of the horrors of an infamous Brazilian prison in Carandiru, Babenco has shot in Spanish, English and Portuguese and made an international impact with his films.
His latest feature, El Pasado, is a more personal film. It’s about a love affair that has ended and expresses Babenco’s views on the different ways that men and women approach breakups. In his eyes, women generally hold on to failed relationships because they feel they have helped to shape their former partners, while “men look for a new relationship without carrying the baggage from the love that has ended.”
Rimini (a powerful turn by Gael García Bernal) and his high-school sweetheart, Sofia (Analía Couceyro), are splitting up after twelve years of marriage. Rimini quickly finds a new love, but Sofia will not leave Rimini alone. Her insistent meddling destroys every new relationship Rimini enters, even creating problems for him professionally.
After a series of mishaps, Rimini finds himself working as a personal trainer and having an affair with an older woman. When he finds her with another man, he flies into a jealous rage and ends up in jail. The only woman who still loves him comes to his rescue. Their attempts to break with the past seem impossible; it permeates their present.
El Pasado explores many facets of the differences Babenco perceives between men and women. Why can’t Sofia get over Rimini? Why doesn’t Rimini stand up to her? His inability to communicate his desires allows her to destroy his life – and those of his subsequent lovers.
Outstanding performances complement Babenco’s superb direction, which creates an ominous mood as we watch Rimini and Sofia deal (or, rather, fail to deal) with both past and present. This master filmmaker’s latest work offers a bold view of the type of relationship that some individuals never seem to escape.
Diana Sanchez
Héctor Babenco was born in Buenos Aires. After moving to Brazil, he made his first documentary, The Fabulous Fittipaldi (73), which was followed by the feature film, King of the Night (75). He achieved international acclaim with his 1981 feature, Pixote, the Law of the Weakest. His other films include Lúcio Flávio, Passenger of Agony (77), Kiss of the Spider Woman (85), Ironweed (87), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (91), Foolish Heart (98), Carandiru (03) and El Pasado (07).
