Doble o Nada [DVD]

Here is a film which should appeal to multiple groups: tango lovers, Gardel fanatics, and romantics. I saw this film originally last summer and recently ordered my own copy from an amazon partner, hoping it was the same film since no information about it is provided here. As it turns out, the one being sold is the one I wanted.For those who don't know, the cult of Carlos Gardel in Argentina is like the US Elvis cult, only much more devoted and fanatical. As with other popular stars who die young (Gardel died in a plane crash while on tour), there is eternal speculation over what might have been. In the case of Gardel, his death was and is seen as a national tragedy.Anyway, near the start of the movie a struggling Buenos Aires tango singer named Renzo Franchi is introduced to the girlfriend of one of his musicians who spots him while they are leaving a Gardel film. She notes that Franchi looks like Gardel then tells him so.Franchi is flattered then decides to learn some Gardel songs. He does, and his friend's girlfriend is smitten by the similarity of his style to Gardel. Franchi then chumps his friend and steals his girl. She obsessively calls him Gardelito and he becomes more absorbed in the fantasy that he is just like Gardel.His imitation of Gardel ultimately leads to his being invited by Gardel's agent to take Gardel's place in singing a radio commercial for Ford when Gardel found himself overbooked with commitments. Gardel hears him sing over the phone, is amazed at the similarity in voice and style and endorses the commercial as his own. Franchi of course gets paid, but Gardel gets credit.All of this leads Franchi's fellow musicians to fantasize about a "Gardel" tour of Latin America while Gardel is out of Buenos Aires on business. This trip takes them to north-western Argentina, Bolivia (where the agent absconds), Peru, Ecuador, and finally to Colombia where the real Gardel happened to be slated to perform in Bogota. They soon find out that few people have heard of Gardel outside of the sophisticated metropolitan areas and things begin to go awry. The trip is filled with mishaps, some comical and some sad, and Gardelito (Franchi) finds himself broke in Bogota without his wife (he had married his admirer) and his musicians, all of whom returned to Buenos Aires when his tour proved to have been a mistake.But Franchi was by now becoming full of himself as better than Gardel and determined to prove his wife and his band wrong. By chance, he encounters Gardel's agent and writer at a hotel in Bogota (where Gardel was and is hugely popular)who both give him the brush-off. He is discouraged but his big chance comes when Gardel petulantly refuses to perform and his agent desparately cooks up a scheme to avoid a riot by going on his knees to Gardelito to be Gardel's substitute for a couple of minutes.What happens next, I'll leave for you to discover, but the last portion of this enchanting film has a tremendous surprise ending.Gardelito with a twist!!In addition to the superb acting of Dario Grandinetti as Franchi/Gardel, there is the equally superb acting of his supporting cast. The film is filled with dance, romance, and the songs of Gardel. Unobtrusive English subtitles can be selected for those who don't understand Spanish. Get it while it is still available!!

I would like to stress that the movie "Doble o nada", according to my personal, humble opinion, is a "five star general": The directing of all actors, reflecting , mainly, Argentina and its soul (people, landscape, culture)and, secondarily, other south american countries, the music, the sound, the photography, the scenario, dressing, decoration, make-up et.c. achieve perfection. One who knows history and loves good cinema can come to this conclusion, I believe. The moral teachings are to be regarded, too: Who is who and what is what, really? Truth and lies, reality and deception, fine art and mockery, the "theatre" of life and the artistic drama, love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, history and fantasy and, actually, the innumerable dualities of our lives. Can our world go on in double, lethal entangling? Double or nothing? If you are familiar with Argentina, Tango, South America, in general, the Thirties and its music then lean somewhere and absorb yourselves in this movie. If these terms are unknown to you, then try to philosophize by this movie. It's a "life and death" lesson and beyond, for sure!

Incredible movie. The DVD in perfect conditions. My friend had lost his. I just replaced it. He doesn't fit in his clothes again.

Very good

Las interpretaciones y las canciones permiten pasar un rato agradable, pero lo que más me gusta de esta película es el final.

The best thing about this film is Dario Grandinetti. He is amazing.

Wonderful movie, music and dance. If you love tangos you will enjoy this movie.

If you don't know that Carlos Gardel was a hugely popular singer in Argentina in the 1930s, part of the charm of this film will be lost. But it still has much to commend it, including a richly musical score and performances by a wonderful cast. It tells an alternative story about Gardel that permits him to survive what was apparently a very real and very fatal plane crash, while telling the story of a struggling tango singer, Renzo Franchi, who tours the length and breadth of South America, with two musicians and a wife, each of whom finally deserts him.Dario Grandinetti is terrific in the dual role of both singers. While looking alike, as one would expect, the two characters are very clearly different men with different attitudes and personalities. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón as Renzo's wife Juanita is lovely, her emotions always apparent as her loyalties shift with the objects of her desire. Artistic design, capturing the look and feel of 1930s art deco, adds significantly to the film as well. Enjoyable and a window into Argentine cultural history.