La parte del león (1978) Poster

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6/10
The lion sleeps tonight.
morrison-dylan-fan29 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
For bank holiday Monday,I decided to pick one of the titles that I've been saving to watch. Reading up a little on Argentina Neo- Noir after watching the excellent original The Secret In Their Eyes,I decided that it was time to grab the lions tail of this Neo- Noir.

The plot:

Robbing a bank,Larsen and some other gangsters decide to hide their cash in a water tank. Looking out of the office window bored,burnt- out Bruno Di Toro spots someone messing with a water tank across the road. Investigating later.Toro finds himself with more cash than he has ever had,but soon finds that he will have to fight to keep the lion's share.

View on the film:

Setting the sunrise/sunset on the movie, Aníbal Gruart and Jorge Navarro snap open a crunchy score,with grinding guitars stepping on Mario's Neo-Noir anxiety and smooth Jazz drums giving the title a simmering tension. Looking for a safe haven with a bagful of cash, Julio De Grazia gives a great performance as the dripping with fear,Neo-Noir loner Bruno Di Toro,while Ulises Dumont stabs the flick with an ice cold charm as gangster Larsen.

Taking the lion share of credit,debuting writer/director Adolfo Aristarain & cinematographer Horacio Maira attack the "dirty war" that the military government were committing, (from 1976-1983 between 9,089 to 30,000 people "disappeared") via red neon lights and whip-pans round the crumbling streets exposing the decay and loss of any trust that has taken root. Running 75 minutes (not counting credits) the screenplay by Adolfo Aristarain has the chance to grill a lean Neo-Noir. Gradually setting up Toro's life, Aristarain disappointingly remains completely detached,with the dour Noir atmosphere thinning out any flames of fear,and there being little progression in the building of pessimism inside of Toro,as he looks into the lion's mouth.
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10/10
Top Ten from Argentina
Andres2411 November 2003
I saw this movie yesterday after coming from the university.

The movie is a direct call to the military government of that time. And could pass the censorship of "Tato" "Why did you kill him". Someone was questioned. "It was a River Plate fan". One of the most incredible line listened. Direct hit to the government. Millions of people were killed or were executed in those ages ('76-'83). Incredible performance: Julio de Grazia. He found a lot of money. And a great thriller started. Realism, a film noir. All was taken care by Adolfo Aristarain. Perfect.
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5/10
Argentine thriller
hof-418 September 2011
A taut (if somewhat run-of-the-mill) Argentine film noir. Positives: good script and cinematography, excellent acting from all concerned especially the protagonist, Julio De Grazia. Negatives: an obtrusive and frequently strident score (many scenes would benefit from an absence of music).

This is the first film by Argentine director Adolfo Aristarain, who went on to direct some of the best Argentine movies of the last three decades, among them "Time for Revenge" (1981), "A Place in the World" (1992), "Common Ground" (2002) and "Roma" (2004). In the light of these works "The Lion's Share" must be considered as a minor work, but it is worth watching.
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5/10
The best is yet to come
germandawi18 April 2021
The Lion's Share was the first movie directed by Adolfo Aristarain. With a marked noire style, this was the first of many movies that helped Argentinian cinema move forward, adopting the style and themes that were being addressed in international cinema.

The plot follows Bruno, an ordinary man that comes across a big sum of money from a failed heist. Then, the protagonist embarks on a race against the clock to launder the money and disappear before the thieves catch up to him.

Other than the exploration of themes common of the genre, such as the price of dignity, the script for this film is rather simple. The final result is a correct but insubstantial movie that accomplishes all the requirements of the noire police storyline without much else to contribute.

The cast is made up of some of some of the most coveted Argentinian actors of the moment, such as Julio De Grazia, Ulises Dumont and Luisina Brando. As a result, most of the performances are correct. Some exceptions are a very inexpert Julio Chavez, that ends up acting like a robot in his attempt at playing a remorseless killer, and Luisina Brando, who unfortunately was doled out the role of the dumb character, with a forgettable and ridiculous monologue in a scene with Julio De Grazia.

In conclusion, The Lion's Share is a very correct first movie of a director, who got much better as his career advanced. I recommend it for whoever is interested in contemporary Argentinean cinema's history, but I'm afraid that the ones looking for a noire police story won't find much of interest.

This is the translation of a review first published in FilmAffinity, on the 8 of October of 2020. Written by Germán Dawidowski, translated with the help of Paula Marrodan.
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