A quick note on a movie we saw last week. Bombón (El Perro) (Trans. Bombón The Dog) is one of those movies that you don’t need to see in one go. The protagonist (Villegas) loses his job in the difficult economic times that Argentina was going through. The one thing he’s good at – making knives with a great deal of love doesn’t appear to fetch him any money. He’s in his fifties and perhaps struck by the inertia of his own life. He is dependent on his daughter and his entire life seems to centre around his car. On a road then he meets a woman who manages to give him a dog in return for a favour. The dog, a beautiful Argentine Dogo is young and appears to have received no training at all. Villegas and the dog find sudden purpose and after some amount of training win a local event. In hard economic times, this sudden stroke of luck help him dream a few dreams.
The castle comes crashing down when it appears that the dog has lost his Mojo. Well, it has a happy ending. I won’t say more.
I think there is something very earthy about most of the Spanish movies I have seen. It might have to do with the fact that one tends to watch the best movies in a language that one doesn’t understand. You tend to be choosy and pick stuff that comes recommended. The Argetine landscape, general characters with good humour, the innikko-nalaikko (Tamizh, trans. today-tomorrow) state of affairs and the currency of intentions. Perhaps it’s an an emotional landscape that one relates to. Or maybe the best movies in any language have the same impact.
If you love dogs, you’ll relate to this movie deeply. While perhaps the dog is just a metaphor for the helplessness one feels over one’s own condition and circumstances – if you’ve ever lived with a dog you will recognize that dogs closely mirror the health and attitude of the human beings they are with. Villegas perhaps sees himself reflected in the dog. Talented, full of potential but forced to play by the rules of commercial success. The brilliance of the movie is perhaps that it is just as insightful and entertaining, irrespective of the level of metaphoric interpretation you choose. And yes, it made me miss my dog very much. There’s nothing quite comforting as the head of a wagging-tail dog in your hands with eyes that look at you with complete adoration and trust.
Posted on May 10th, 2006 by Neha Viswanathan
Filed under: Music, Film and Art
Perhaps the dog is just a metaphor…
My dog is an oxymoron. But thanks for a cool recommendation.
You might want to check out this short film called “Inja” about a dog raised on a South African farm. In just 10 minutes, and with only 3 actors (one of them a dog), the film says so much about apartheid-era politics.
All I can say that the dog is so darn ‘cute’.
Seen Amores Perros ?
I watced Bombon el Perro completely by chance at a film festival here (not often do we get one of those)….
Absolutely loved it, probably the only movie where the conjoining of two canines constitutes a happy ending :)
km: we are off to find that reco now.
sakshi: I know!!!
sajith: Yep. Brilliant no?
Ashok: Heh. Happy dogs etc.
[...] In a post made some months back I’d said something about liking Spanish movies. It’s safe to say that my fascination for them continues. I suppose I am also biased towards movies that explore relationships women have with the world and others. A very refreshing thing about this movie was how the camera doesn’t appear to have a “male” gaze. You know what I mean. Most movies have this irritating camera work where women become further objectified by the camera (even if held by a woman) . This particular movie appears to have a wonderful way of looking at women the way other women do. A comfortable gaze that doesn’t feel like it’s intruding into a living space. [...]