Bombón - El Perro

Colour, 35 mm
Argentina, 2004, 97 min
Section: Another View
Oficiální stránky: www.bavaria-film-international.de

Synopsis

Set in Argentine Patagonia, this story of instinct, fate and friendship dovetails nicely with the director’s prior minimalist dramas about people who, while lacking worldly wealth, are all the more rich in humanity. Life isn’t easy here, especially if you lose your job, and at age 52, Juan Villegas finds himself the victim of unemployment. But he doesn’t lose his cool although his prospects of finding other work are more than dismal. Despite being a talented mechanic, he simply can’t get himself hired on. Yet fate rewards him with a special gift – a pure-blooded Argentine Dogo named Bombón. It is the present of all presents because the puppy’s face, nearly as big as a calf’s, can brighten up even the gloomiest of days. The solicitous concern which man and dog show each other, can not only become friendship but can change one’s life as well.

About the director

Carlos Sorin (b. 1944, Buenos Aires) debuted in 1986 with A King and His Movie (La película del rey), which brought him the Silver Lion for Best First Work at the Venice IFF and a Goya for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film. He followed it up with the critically befuddling Eversmile, New Jersey (Eterna sonrisa de New Jersey, 1989), starring Daniel Day Lewis. Minimal Stories (Historias mínimas, 2002), screened in the Forum of Independents at the 2003 Karlovy Vary IFF, took among other awards the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at San Sebastian, as well as another Goya. Sorin is a well-known dog lover and in his fourth film, Bombón - El Perro, he indulges in this innocent passion.