Burnt Money (2001)

Sadly Over-hyped

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A movie about waiting. Doesn't sound too interesting, but when you have well written characters, their interactions become action. This is the story of a heist that goes a little awry. The gang must then hideout. This sounds easier than it is, as fingers begin to point at a setup, and a couple begin to drift apart. This whole time waiting becomes a time for the two protagonists to explore and experiment. It soon becomes obvious that money isn't the only thing at stake, but also pride and freedom, and not just the kind of freedom that involves keeping out of jail. The film, like the best crime thrillers, explodes into violence at a shocking speed. It emphasizes the realistic tone. I loved the 60's setting, and the music really captured the period. At times both frustrating and sad, it shows how humans will let their hearts take over, even if that means getting everyone killed/imprisoned and losing a lot of money in the process.

This film tells a story, based on true events from 1965, about three men who steal seven million dollars and then flee to Uruguay together with a fourth man who runs the show from a distance. The men end up having to hide out for a much longer period of time than they expected and therefore grow a bit desperate as they face different conflicts with themselves and each other. The story is very interesting and suspenseful throughout, with some instances of comedy which lighten the serious mood that develops at times. The dialogue between the three men is very irregular as it switches from intense anger to silly comedy and even passionate love within seconds, therefore keeping the audience very unsettled and confused at times. Whilst being interesting, the story many times might make one uncomfortable as it deals with various issues, such as homosexuality and sex, which are seen through a raw lens which is not commonly used in most movies. The main issue of the robbery seems to dilute as the movie goes on, and the focus switches to the men's sexual insecurities and desires. Although this was a bit too much for my viewing preference, such issues as shown in the film are present in the world today.

I wasn't excepting anything special before I started to watch "Plata quemada". I just knew that it was an Argentinean movie and it has won the Goya price. Only good movies win this price. After the beginning of the movie (the underground scene) I thought that it would be another stupid gay romance. Later, step by step, the movie became more and more interesting. Great plot, excellent actors (and actress), wonderful music. As one of the IMDb users says, Eduardo Noriega's acting is similar to the River Phoenix's one. For example in "My private Idaho". Who knows if his voices were symptoms of mental defect or small epileptic fits etc.? When the movie was ending I was thinking that it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. But when appeared the information that it was based on a true story my breath was taken away. Next half an hour, I was not able to do anything, except to think about the movie. I reacted this way just when I had seen "Dancer in the dark". It is not one of the best movies I have ever seen, but the best one ever.

I am an enthusiastic of foreign cinema, somebody told me look over southamerica cinema, since Mexican movie-making has gone since time ago down the drain, I was trying to find masterpieces out of Spain, France and Asia. OK, I started my search with Brasil, and I'm tellin' you I wasn't disappointed at all, I was lucky to find very good movies like Tieta do Agreste, Four Days in September, and Central Do Brasil, I switched to Argentina by advice of few friends, I started with this movie,(Burnt Money) supposedly historical what I found was, a melodrama, some good acting, but mostly a lot of bad acting, the set up of the period was well done, but somehow the whole movie was centered in the period or in the robbery, instead I attended to a disgustin' gay melodrama. I have nothing against homosexuallity, but this movie should have been place in a different category. I found it repulsive, I'm gonna still try to find something better among the argentina cinema, hopefully something like Brasil has to offer. If you want my advice, OK, watch any Brazilian movies, you won't be disappointed, about argentina, I don't know yet, I can only tell you, stay away from "Burnt money", unless you are into gay films of course.