THE 14TH FILM NOIR FESTIVAL: ARGENTINE NOIR

Post-War Argentina: Juan Peron is in power, and the world’s 15th wealthiest nation is gearing up for an age of prosperity. As in America, however, the brightest sunshine creates the darkest shadows, and just beneath the optimism bubbled rot, corruption and murder. Argentinian filmmakers, inspired by their American counterparts, produced razor-sharp crime pictures with shocking plots, brilliant acting and brooding cinematography that captured the seedy side of Buenos Aires. These noirs should be classics around the world but have been all but lost to audiences north of the equator. The Heights Theater and Trylon Cinema are proud to introduce Minnesotans to five noir classics from Argentina.

APENAS UN DELINCUENTE (HARDLY A CRIMINAL) in 35MM

Jan. 26, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

35MM PRESENTATION

Jose (Jorge Salcedo) is a gambler, and a bad one at that. After falling deeply into debt, he embezzles money from his employer, taking advantage of a loophole that will send him to prison for only six years. But when he's free and finds that the loot he's stashed has gone missing, a frenzy of criminals and police make his life a living hell. At once a stunning prison picture and crime caper, Hardly a Criminal has been described as "the best Argentine film noir of the 1940s" by the Museum of Modern Art (New York).

In Spanish with English subtitles

Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema.

35mm print courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation Collection at the UCLA Film and Television Archive


LA BESTIA DEBE MORIR (THE BEAST MUST DIE)

Feb. 2, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION

Felix Lane (Narciso Ibanez Menta) is a famous mystery writer with the world at his feet, until his nine-year-old son is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Adopting a new identity and planting himself firmly in the lives of the family he believes is responsible, Felix's revenge unfolds swiftly and with plenty of collateral damage. Featuring an almost unbearably intense performance by Ibanez Menta, The Beast Must Die is an unforgettable and emotional noir that should not be missed. Based on a novel by Cecil Day-Lewis (Daniel's dad).

In Spanish with English subtitles

Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon cinema.


LOS TALLOS AMARGOS (THE BITTER STEMS)

Feb. 9, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION

Alfredo Gasper (Carlos Cores) isn't making any money in the newspaper trade. When he starts a get-rich-quick scheme, he meets a desperate Hungarian refugee, Paar Liudas (Vassili Lambrinos), who hopes to bring his family to Buenos Aires. At first, the pair are fast friends who work perfectly together - but once the money starts flowing, Alfredo's barely checked paranoia rises to the surface. This moody and gorgeous noir evokes Edgar Allen Poe's best work, won the Argentine Film Critics Association award for Best Picture and Director in 1957, and was ranked the 49th best photographed film of all-time in American Cinematographer magazine.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon cinema


EL VAMPIRO NEGRO (THE BLACK VAMPIRE)

Feb. 16, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION

In Buenos Aires, a serial killer (Natthan Pinzon) is murdering children, and soon the police, and the underworld, are working to rid the streets of this madman. If this sounds familiar, it is - The Black Vampire is the third remake of Fritz Lang's M. But this time the plot focuses on the women of the story, specifically Amalia (Olga Zubarry). She's a cabaret singer desperate to keep her young daughter out of the madman's clutches, and herself away from the investigator in charge (Roberto Escalada), who's taken a creepy liking to her.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon cinema.


SI MUERO ANTES DE DESPERTAR (IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE) in 35MM

March 2, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

35MM PRESENTATION

Lucio (Nestor Zavarce) is a prankster and class clown, a happy-go-lucky teenager whose police officer father has almost completely written off. When one of his classmates, a young girl, tells Lucio about a mysterious stranger, he agrees to keep it a secret... until she vanishes. Soon, more young girls are missing, and no one will believe Lucio, who must take matters into his own hands. Based on a novella by Cornell Woolrich, and framed like a fairy tale, If I Die Before I Wake is a disturbing nightmare of a noir, whose climax was so intense it was kept from American screens until recently.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon cinema.

35mm print courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation Collection at the UCLA Film and Television Archive