Tony Manero (2008)

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

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.

This film has lingered in my mind for a very long time.The lead character is probably one of the scariest and most disturbing I have seen on cinema . He is without any morality and empathy but for some reason you are captivated by him and his life. You want him to succeed at first but as the film progresses you ate repulsed by him but stills obtain a fascination in his life. This is due to the writing and directing.?The conditions and larger political scope of the film are well thought out, to live in that kind of fascistic government one such as the lead of this film is created and thrives. He is the logical product of that environment. The scene when he kills the old woman for the TV is so disturbing i still think about it to this day and I saw it about three years ago.The most haunting aspect for me was when he gets on the bus at the end and watches the winner of the competition and we all know what will happen, what he will do and what is store for his prey. Brilliant ending. This is brutal, disturbing and amazingly directed.

This film is very good in my opinion.I like odd, daring, crazy movies like this sometimes - not just the big famous titles.The film kind of sneaks up on you though as to just how dark and sad it is - so do be warned if you are easily shocked.The film is set during Pinochet's rule in Chile and the main character Raul is a dark, brooding, pitiless, frustrated guy who is obsessed with Sat Night Fever. He is around 50 but acts younger.He sees himself as Tony Manero - (John Travolta) and watches the movie often.I think the obsession is due not only to the fact that the guy has a screw loose but that he is dreaming of and projecting a better life than the reality of life under a curfew style oppressive regime in Chile.The cool thing to me is that Raul looks like Al Pacino not Travolta and the character has more in common with Tony Montana (Scarface) as you will see when you watch.Along with some other younger characters Raul has formed a dance act at a local bar/ cafe who are rehearsing to do some musical numbers from the film SNF.We quickly see that the lead actor Raul is not just a petty thief but actually a serial killer who will do anything to get by.There are constant appearances and references to Pinochet's agents and some of Raul's circle are involved in protesting and printing of leaflets so are often surveilled.There is some strong sexual content in this but Raul seems a bit impotent and kinda only really gets off on the movie Sat Night Fever.He seems to be idolised though by all the woman around him regardless of the fact that he cannot meets their needs.There is one awful scene where Raul uses the white suit of another person as a toilet - to prevent him being a rival in the Tony Manero look alike competition - so just be warned it is hard to stomach at times and not for the faint hearted.There are some bits I found funny too its not all dark but overall its just odd surreal and slightly unnerving throughout perhaps how life was in Chile during that regime.Its like you are sucked into the dream/nightmare or quest of this person and you want it to end but also want to see more.I think one reviewer said the ending was not good - I thought it was cool and it seems obvious what will happen next to me.Personally I love films like this as I stated but don't think it will appeal to everybody.

Well he might be trying to look like 70s John Travolta (he doesn't!) but he does look just like Al Pacino circa Heat! This film did keep me watching, Ill give it that. But its ultimately disappointing - especially the end where it seems they run out of money/ideas/script! I think there is a very good film trying to get out here - maybe if it had been more about the actual times (Pinochet etc) rather than one man's fixation on Saturday Night Fever, it could have been better? I didn't understand why being obsessed by Saturday Night Fever turns you into a killer and a freak either...its not that bad!There were some rather nasty undercurrent themes in this too - its most definitely an 18. To sum up - its interesting but not worthy of a re-watch. I think it could have been a lot better had the script been different. I didn't understand the need for all the unsavoury bits (not just the two? murders) - just not needed and difficult to watch.

Some obsessions are OK, but if your obsession, at 52 years old, is to be the Tony Manero (Saturday Night Fever) of Chile, then you might want to get a life.Alfredo Castro is Raúl, a man obsessed with achieving his goal, and a man who lets nothing stand in his way. He is oblivious to the goings on in Pinochet's Chile.He is also obvious to his girlfriend's (Amparo Noguera) attempts at intimacy. He is focused on one thing, and excludes all else.A serial killer, and a thief, Raúl even takes his girlfriend's daughter (Paola Lattus) upstairs to have sex with her watching. It is as bizarre as the first sex scene. He just can't do things normally.When he hears that Goyo (Héctor Morales) is going to compete against him, he defecates on his white suit.It was a gritty film that shows the price of obsession, and the grim reality of the country of Chile under Pinochet, not in a documentary style, but fictionally.