A brief review: "El lado oscuro del corazón 2" [Argentina, Spain 2001]

Eliseo Subiela follows-up on the romantic drama he made a decade earlier with a sequel - "El lado oscuro del corazón 2" [Eng. Title: The Dark Side of the Heart 2]. He catches up with the same protagonist after ten years - Oliverio (played by a same, ten year older Darío Grandinetti), searching yet again for a woman who can 'fly', after the one he had who did - Ana (Sandra Ballesteros), takes flight literally to live with her daughter in Spain.

Frustrated at not finding a 'bird' - he could only manage 'amphibians' (Florencia Sabatella) and 'glow-worms' (Carolina Peleritti), Oliverio decides to go looking for Ana in Spain, and catches up with her in Barcelona. They're glad to have found each other, but alas, couldn't get off the ground when it mattered. Apparently they'd been looking back at their relationship rather than forward, 'Time' - in the form of a biker dressed in black reminds him. Oliverio will see the poster of trapeze artist Alejandra (Ariadna Gil) in flight, and falls madly in love. He pursues her through the country and eventually catches up in Sitges with the help of Time's free ride.

Over these years, 'Death' (Nacha Guevara) hasn't given up chasing Oliverio either, relentlessly following him wherever he goes. Since he can't shake her off, he takes her in his stride and even starts treating her as a friend. After meeting a pretty but suicidal Alejandra, Oliverio will discover that the trapeze artist too is stalked by her own bolero-serenading 'Death' (Manuel Bandera). Oliverio has his work cut-out - he'll have figure out a way of cheating his and Alejandra's 'Death', but for that he needs to first win the heart of Alejandra - no easy task under the circumstances...

Subiela continues his esoteric meanderings from the earlier instalment with his typical poetic license to tell yet another love story, elegantly and in a feel-good manner. Non-pretentious while also trying to be artistic, it may be commercial heart-warming cinema, Argentinian-style - but it is still way better than what Hollywood churns out these days. Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.com DVD Link [NTSC]
Mine is an anamorphic PAL version that's not in stock at the time of posting.

 

The Nudity: Florencia Sabatella, Carolina Peleritti, Sandra Ballesteros, and Ariadna Gil
For some reason, the first two names above are spelt differently in IMDB. In any case, the actresses appear briefly nude during their respective scenes as two of Oliverio's exotic catches. Sandra Ballesteros even manages to look sexier than she did ten years earlier during a nude scene, and beautiful Ariadna Gil also appears briefly nude in one scene. There is also a voluptuous actress (uncredited) appearing in Oliverio's dream, after he fails to 'perform' in bed on one occasion.



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Sandra Ballesteros & co in "El lado Oscuro del Corazón" [1992, Argentina]

Eliseo Subiela is one of Argentina's surreal directors who tends to delve into the esoteric, I've several films of his in my collection, and among them, his 1992 romantic drama "El lado Oscuro del Corazón" [Eng. Title: The Dark Side of the Heart] remains my favourite. The same can't be said of my DVD from which this compilation was made - the full-frame transfer is of poor quality. Having said that, mine is an old edition DVD (2004) and I don't know if there have been subsequent editions, but if the film ever gets a remastered release, this post will of course be updated.

That however is the only negative observation in this review. The film itself is beautifully crafted, and told with great passion and love. The screenplay, direction, soundtrack and particularly the script is exemplary, with a lot of dialogues taken from the poetry of Mario Benedetti (who incidentally acts in the film too - as a German poet).

In Subiela films, if you look beyond the subject he'd chosen and step into his world, you'll begin to enjoy his quirky interpretations and exuberant but graceful style of film-making. Even though he may occasionally borrow thematic elements from other masters, his films on the whole are totally unique and thought provoking.

Storyline:
Oliverio is a dreamer - a poet who is looking to meet the perfect woman in his life - a woman who can make him literally 'fly'. He steadfastly refuses to 'grow up' and take responsibility - he had already separated from his wife, and now shuttles between Buenos Aires and Montenegro whenever he needs money, to prostitute his writing talents for an advertising agency. It is during one of these trips that he meets Ana, a single mother who similarly prostitutes her body to the extent needed to live and save up for her child. Unlike Oliverio, Ana has a practical goal typical of most women, and despite knowing that, Oliverio falls in love. Yes - they fly every time they make love, but that alone apparently isn't enough for them to stay together. In addition to these two lovers, you have Oliverio's nagging conscience, and 'Death' herself who keeps following him around, with some rather interesting interactions between them. Loosely translating one of their conversations from memory, "...You keep following me - are you in love with me?" he asks. "Why don't you take me... I bet you must be dying to feel my hand between your legs, and to have your tits squeezed, you fucking death". She replies, "I could take you, but you still use words that stop me from doing so." This is the kind of tone used throughout the film.

Despite the DVD quality, this is a gem of a film - incredibly romantic and gloriously escapist. It is also perhaps among Argentina's all-time top twenty films, and therefore, Highly Recommended Viewing..!




Compilation: Miriam Odorica, Delfina Grau, Marisa Aguilera, Sandra Ballesteros, and Inés Vernengo



Scene Guide:

• Funny scene - Oliverio tells the woman what he expects - he doesn't mind whether they stink or are ugly, as long as they can make him fly. You'll see what happens to those who didn't. The wholesome woman is played by Miriam Odorica.
• Oliverio returns to the studio he shares with his sculptor friend. The woman isn't fazed by being seen naked by others. Played by Delfina Grau.
• I've left a couple of minutes of the scene preceding the nudity, where Oliverio extols the rapacious sexual appetite of 'hairy' women, whose vagina work like a vacuum cleaner - apparently. Whatever the case, she too fails to make him fly that night. The hairy woman is played by Marisa Aguilera.
• Oliverio and Ana finally make love - but just as they start levitating, Ana pleads him to stop. Ana is played by the very Argentinian beauty, Sandra Ballesteros.
• Delfina again - this time frolicking in the apartment.
• Oliverio brings home a blind woman this time. While she's intelligent and good in bed - all she could do was only 'see' colours during orgasm. The blind woman is played by Inés Vernengo.
• Seminal scene - of Ana and Olverio together, watched disapprovingly by 'Death'.

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