David O'ConnellThe Aura
July 9th 2008 03:49
The second and final feature of Argentinian director Fabian Bielinsky’s sadly short career, The Aura, is a wonderful follow-up to his acclaimed con-men drama, Nine Queens. Like that film, The Aura (2005) stars Ricardo Darin as a man, Espinosa, known mostly for his profession as a taxidermist, whose troubled home life leaves him with only his passion for his work and dreams of planning the perfect crime.
The other interesting thing about Espinosa is that he’s epileptic and just before an attack he experiences an “aura”, a few helpless moments when all his senses are opened up, signaling the onset of a seizure.
After his wife leaves him he reluctantly decides to get out of the city and head south into mountainous regions for hunting with a friend, Sontag (Alejandro Awada), even though he deplores the thought of killing animals. They stay at a remote cabin run by a young woman, Diana (Delores Fonzi) whilst her husband Dietrich is off hunting somewhere.
Espinosa's friend is called away the next day by a sick wife, but he stays on and after a seizure becomes confused whilst stalking a deer and accidentally shoots a man he soon learns is Dietrich who appears to have had a secret life of his own with another remote cabin set back in the woods, away from the eyes of his young wife and her brother.
Bielinsky’s dark and provocative noir deepens as Espinosa explores Dietrich’s cabin which is filled with meticulous plans for an upcoming robbery of a local casino with two hired criminals who soon arrive in search of their man. Espinosa has perfect recall and uses this to his advantage by assuming Dietrich’s plan and taking his place as he concocts reasons for the other man’s absence.
He’s soon dragged fully into their scheme, his dreams of a perfect crime - so long in his mind - perhaps deluding him that everything will work out. Naturally there are plenty of complications and twists along the way, including the ever-present prospect of another seizure and its preceding “aura”, but they’re all perfectly handled by Bielinsky in a believable way. The ending itself is quite a satisfying one even without a showy set-piece to underline it - it's brutal but low-key, in keeping with the rest of the film's tone.
The pacing overall is extremely measured which I really liked because it allows you to fully absorb Espinosa’s journey and the unusual surrounding of the mountain town; he gives everything time to breathe too, there’s probably less dialogue than in most 125 minute films you’ll see.
All the minor characters are flawlessly portrayed too, there’s not a weak link among them, with Fonzi especially good as the beaten-down Diana. Checco Varese’s washed-out cinematography gives the film a further noirish edge, with plenty of interesting angles and framing, whilst the music of Lucio Godoy works brilliantly in a few key scenes without barely raising above an ominous pulse.
Based on this and the earlier Nine Queens, Bielinsky’s loss at the young age of 46 (from a heart attack) is a real blow to Argentinian film. Both are superb, absorbing dramas, cleverly constructed and with brilliant lead performances by Ricardo Darin. Highly recommended.
The other interesting thing about Espinosa is that he’s epileptic and just before an attack he experiences an “aura”, a few helpless moments when all his senses are opened up, signaling the onset of a seizure.
After his wife leaves him he reluctantly decides to get out of the city and head south into mountainous regions for hunting with a friend, Sontag (Alejandro Awada), even though he deplores the thought of killing animals. They stay at a remote cabin run by a young woman, Diana (Delores Fonzi) whilst her husband Dietrich is off hunting somewhere.
Espinosa's friend is called away the next day by a sick wife, but he stays on and after a seizure becomes confused whilst stalking a deer and accidentally shoots a man he soon learns is Dietrich who appears to have had a secret life of his own with another remote cabin set back in the woods, away from the eyes of his young wife and her brother.
Ricardo Darin as the taxidermist
Bielinsky’s dark and provocative noir deepens as Espinosa explores Dietrich’s cabin which is filled with meticulous plans for an upcoming robbery of a local casino with two hired criminals who soon arrive in search of their man. Espinosa has perfect recall and uses this to his advantage by assuming Dietrich’s plan and taking his place as he concocts reasons for the other man’s absence.
He’s soon dragged fully into their scheme, his dreams of a perfect crime - so long in his mind - perhaps deluding him that everything will work out. Naturally there are plenty of complications and twists along the way, including the ever-present prospect of another seizure and its preceding “aura”, but they’re all perfectly handled by Bielinsky in a believable way. The ending itself is quite a satisfying one even without a showy set-piece to underline it - it's brutal but low-key, in keeping with the rest of the film's tone.
Dolores Fonzi as Diana
The pacing overall is extremely measured which I really liked because it allows you to fully absorb Espinosa’s journey and the unusual surrounding of the mountain town; he gives everything time to breathe too, there’s probably less dialogue than in most 125 minute films you’ll see.
All the minor characters are flawlessly portrayed too, there’s not a weak link among them, with Fonzi especially good as the beaten-down Diana. Checco Varese’s washed-out cinematography gives the film a further noirish edge, with plenty of interesting angles and framing, whilst the music of Lucio Godoy works brilliantly in a few key scenes without barely raising above an ominous pulse.
Based on this and the earlier Nine Queens, Bielinsky’s loss at the young age of 46 (from a heart attack) is a real blow to Argentinian film. Both are superb, absorbing dramas, cleverly constructed and with brilliant lead performances by Ricardo Darin. Highly recommended.
The late director on set with his star
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