Crane World (1999)

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Director Pablo Trapero's film 'Mundo Grúa' inquires whether one is really on top of the world merely by sitting in a crane which is used to construct sky scrapers ? The answer is in negative as one is on top of the world only if he/she has a respectable job which enables people to lead decent lives. For this film, Argentine actor Luis Margani is excellent as his acting performance makes us wonder how fast the lines between fiction and reality have blurred. Cobi Migliora's black and white photography does wonders to depict an honest account of the life in Buenos Aires. It is said that family is the unit which ties humanity. This is also the case with the protagonist whose immediate family is always around him in the form of a wayward son and an anxious old mother. Mundo Grúa is one of the most original films to have come out of New Argentine Cinema. It depicts how severely ordinary people are affected by employment crisis. Their plight is further worsened when there is no guarantee that they would be provided with decent meals on different construction sites located all over Argentina. The viewers get to see how choices have to be made by ordinary people in order to be alive. Despite its serious theme, this film does not lose focus even while depicting scenes of humor.

The gorgeous, slightly grainy, black and white photography of this film would seem to come from earlier decades. The characters, buildings and vehicles could belong in the 70s or early 80s. Only later did it dawn on me that the story takes place during the tough Argentine economic crisis of the late 90s and early 00s. The film shares a visual look with some early Scorcese work, although its social theme is perhaps more reminiscent of the Italian neorealist films of the 40s and 50s.Crane World also reminds me a bit of Five Easy Pieces, with Jack Nicholson, which also deals with a sensitive musician who puts his music aside in order to work in construction (even if the circumstances surrounding their main characters are very different). Unlike Robert Dupea (Nicholson's role in Five Easy Pieces), Crane World's Rulo has a beautiful sense of humor and doesn't take himself terribly seriously. He's a dreamer confronted by reality, but also an every day man navigating life as fluidly as he can. As the going gets tough, he makes an effort to keep his chin up and find serenity within his struggle.The film doesn't provide big explosions or fireworks. It's a quiet and very elegant piece of work. What consistently amazes about it from start to finish is how natural and spontaneous it feels. One might as well be watching a documentary or be dreaming.Unfortunately for non-Spanish speakers, some of the magic will be lost in translation. Much of the melody comes from the Argentine dialogue that the actors produce so effortlessly. Still, there's no good reason to miss this touchingly eloquent jewel. I can only wonder why it's not better known.

When this film was originally released I had the chance to see it on the big screen. It did have a rather limited release; it didn't have support from a private television station and exhibitors didn't have much confidence in it. No stars are in this film, only people who usually play supporting roles in soap operas or in the theater.But the results were first rate and eventually television made people aware of its worth. All of the actors are excellent and engaging. The black and white cinematography is terrific. The best Argentinean films were not photographed in color and this production is worthy of that tradition.Francisco Canaro's famous waltz, "Corazón de oro", is used as the film theme with great success. Although written in 1928 (reworking his unsuccessful 1925 tango "París"), his music emerges naturally as it was intended to be used in this film. Director Pablo Trapero did a find job, reediting Canaro's 1951 recording.The story of a nice guy whose youthful dreams were shattered and has to struggle with Argentina's crisis as well is still a very good movie.

That's really all one can compare this film with. One of those verbal slices of life that no one really listens to unless trapped in a moving car on a transcontinental highway about a hundred miles outside Albuquerque.Not that it's entirely boring. The script and direction are coherent, and the viewer can certainly identify with the main character as another poor schmoe who's been run over by life, with no way out. In a way, it elicits a positive reaction because Rulo, the fiftyish and overweight protagonist, never seems to lose spirit as he suffers one telling blow after another.As with many other recent films coming out of post-fascist South America, it is moreover revealing of the intense personal struggles these basically European people have faced as time continues to run against them in terms of their general redundancy within the context of a world economy.In a word, sad. But I would watch it again if only to find those small connections with a more universal meaning, like how important it is personally not to give up against great odds. For all his problems, Rulo still possesses the love of his friends, his family, and his sweetheart.