The Aura (2005)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Did you people see the same film I saw?

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

As a movie, it's very well done, and yes, maybe unnecessarily a bit too slow, and I don't care how good an actor can be, when you fix a camera on his face, full close-up for whole minutes at a time and hope for the spectator to guess what this silent face is thinking... is asking for too much.The background music is exceptional. All the characters in this movie are DREADFUL PEOPLE and I at least am sick and tired of dreadful characters. Why is it more interesting to follow the life of these kind of rats of the underworld when there is a brighter side to it? The scum of humanity. What else can you call people that take pleasure from shooting vulnerable animals with long distance rifles for the sake of it??"Life's a pain anyway" said once Greta Garbo to Laurence Olivier. Fine! but then don't make it more painful by making this kind of extremely depressing movies please!This film ends like Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus"!!! Even if I share Greta's point of view, for X's sake... give me a bit of color to make it through the day!!!As most other reviewers I appreciate all the good qualities on this production, truly remarkable, especially because compared with a Hollywood production it has been made with peanuts, and that alone takes a lot of credit!!! An interesting turnabout on the main character is his building up a stronger self with his reaction towards the nastiness commanding the action of bullies but that seems to be the only positive lesson, although he accomplished it with extreme violence. I found incompatible his "I don't kill animals" with being a taxidermist. Although his action at the end of the movie shows us that maybe, after all, he did mind it killing animals.

Fabián Bielinsky's last movie excellently performed by Argentina big star , Ricardo Darin . It deals with Espinoza (magnificent , as always , Ricardo Darin) is a quiet taxidermist who secretly dreams of executing the perfect crime. On his first ever hunting trip, in the calm of the Patagonian forest, his dreams are made reality with one squeeze of the trigger. Espinoza accidentally murders an old man named Dietrich (Manuel Rodal) married a young girl (a young Dolores Fonzi gives an enjoyable acting ) who results out to be a real criminal and inherits his scheme: the heist of an armored van carrying casino profits. Caught up in a world of complex new rules and frightening violence, Espinoza's lack of experience puts him in real danger. And he has another, more dangerous liability : he is an epileptic. Before each seizure he is visited by the ''aura'' . These attacks appear without notice when he least expects them, just when he needs all his wits about him .This is a co-production Argentina/Spain , being well paced , skillfully edited and suspenseful . Interesting and exciting movie about a deluded taxidermist who plans the perfect robbery ; it is plenty of thrills , intense drama , violence , action and is pretty interesting . However , the picture turns out to be overlong and slow moving . Very good acting by Ricardo Darin as a shy taxidermist who suffers epilepsy attacks , a paradoxical moment of confusion and enlightenment where the past and future seem to blend , and he is obsessed with committing the perfect crime. Darin is an excellent leading figure of the most important Argentinian movies such as "El Faro" (1998), "El Mismo Amor La Misma Lluvia" (1999), "Nueve Reinas" (2000), "La Fuga" (2001) and especially ¨El Hijo de la Novia¨ . Stirring as well as sensitive musical score by Lucio Godoy , an extraordinary composer expert on dark atmospheres such as ¨Rage¨, ¨Night runner¨, ¨The others¨, ¨Intacto¨ and many others . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Checco Varese . The motion picture well produced by great producers Gerardo Herrero and Victor Hadida , was compellingly directed by Fabian Bielinsky , in his second and last film , the first was also successful titled ¨9 Reinas¨ also starred by Ricardo Darin and even had an American remake . Fabian sadly deceased at 47 years old . This is an above average film and Argentina's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards for the category of Foreign Language Film . The picture will appeal to Ricardo Darin fans and thriller aficionados .

I give this movie credit for being the only one I have seen that has an epileptic taxidermist as a protagonist. I assume that there is some meaning intended by the taxidermist's day job and the frequent appearance of a dog with an ominous stare, but whatever meaning is there escaped me.It does not take long to understand that this is a mood piece rather than a realistic crime drama, and it succeeded for me in that context. It's just that I did not care for the mood it put me in, bordering on existential despair. The drone of the menacing score creates a somber mood--it's the kind of music that is meant to suggest significance and depth, but I found it repetitive and ultimately irritating. And don't look for any comic relief here, there is none.The setup for the heist is interesting, but in the end the crime story devolves into a rather standard conclusion. My interpretation of the final scene that had the dog glaring at us was that he was trying to say to us that we should be ashamed for having watched this.What with long takes and extended silences I found this to be overly ponderous and plodding.

El Aura is the movie about an epileptic person who has a brilliant mind which always makes up ways to commit theft in the most perfect way. He goes on a hunting trip with a co worker, who had to return prematurely. Things turns in an unexpected way and the protagonist is left with a perfectly planned heist. How the epileptic person gets into the heist team without arousing suspicion and how the perfect heist goes all wrong at a pivotal time.....This is a very well directed neo noir thriller which grips you till the end. The movie begins slow but I guess that whats actually builds the tension around the movie. Ricardo Darin gave a magnificent lead performance with excellent support cast. What separates it from other movies is its unpredictable story and twists that comes along throughout the movie. The screenplay is top notch and background score is captivating. Overall, I would recommend this movie to everyone desiring to see a brilliant film that will keep you on the edge throughout. Don't Miss It. My Verdict: 8/10