A witty French language film set in a prison and about the relationship of the tango dance to the characters. To dance the tango a person must have passion and freedom of movement; from dancing the tango one can gain freedom: Freedom from the monotony of prison, sexual freedom and even physical escape.
Jean-Christophe (Damiens) is an unassuming prison guard who brightens his dull existence by tending to his fish and dancing at a weekly tango class. One evening he accompanies a new participant to the class, Alice (Anne Paulicevich), and finds himself strongly attracted to her. He is shocked to discover that she is the wife and friend of two inmates where he works: Fernand (Sergi Lopez), her husband, and Dominic (Jan Hammenecker), his side-kick. Intrigued and puzzled by Alice's relationship with the two men he becomes entangled in their lives and eventually compromises his position to help the men escape the prison.
The film is a complex tale of Alice's criminal family and the pressures of prison. Weaving through it all is the tango, a passionate dance that requires one to have suffered in order to dance it well. The film shows all the characters, including the male prisoners, learning to tango, the latter being taught by L'Argentin (Frumboli) a much feared inmate. Watching male prisoners learn to tango is funny and moving too.
As well as being witty, the film is an original take on criminals, their lives and jail breaks, with strong performances and some excellent dance scenes. The film is as unassuming as Jean-Christophe and like many French endeavours offers insight into human relationships as an extra to its comedic plot.
Jean-Christophe (Damiens) is an unassuming prison guard who brightens his dull existence by tending to his fish and dancing at a weekly tango class. One evening he accompanies a new participant to the class, Alice (Anne Paulicevich), and finds himself strongly attracted to her. He is shocked to discover that she is the wife and friend of two inmates where he works: Fernand (Sergi Lopez), her husband, and Dominic (Jan Hammenecker), his side-kick. Intrigued and puzzled by Alice's relationship with the two men he becomes entangled in their lives and eventually compromises his position to help the men escape the prison.
The film is a complex tale of Alice's criminal family and the pressures of prison. Weaving through it all is the tango, a passionate dance that requires one to have suffered in order to dance it well. The film shows all the characters, including the male prisoners, learning to tango, the latter being taught by L'Argentin (Frumboli) a much feared inmate. Watching male prisoners learn to tango is funny and moving too.
As well as being witty, the film is an original take on criminals, their lives and jail breaks, with strong performances and some excellent dance scenes. The film is as unassuming as Jean-Christophe and like many French endeavours offers insight into human relationships as an extra to its comedic plot.
