Fine performances all round, some very droll sight gags and a laconic but illuminating script make for very enjoyable viewing.
The Magic Gloves (2006)
Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis: His Renault 12 may be old, crappy and terribly un-cool, but for 35-year-old car service driver Alejandro (played by "Vicentico," singer and leader of the popular Argentine rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) it's a haven of peace and his sole object of desire — besides disco dancing, that... His Renault 12 may be old, crappy and terribly un-cool, but for 35-year-old car service driver Alejandro (played by "Vicentico," singer and leader of the popular Argentine rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) it's a haven of peace and his sole object of desire — besides disco dancing, that is. When the good-natured driver runs into fast-talking self-made “Piraña” one evening, he begins spiraling into an adventure he can't control. Chance encounters and new friendships with a steadily growing number of lucid, pill-popping psychotics present promising business opportunities. Alejandro suddenly finds himself rich from selling one-size-fits-all “magic gloves,” which also bring porn, dog-walkers, health-spas and anti-depressants into Alejandro’s life. In this absurdist comedy, Rejtman, a master of dead-pan humor, once again gives life to endearingly obsessive characters, offers a unique and un-romanticized view of Buenos Aires, and builds a poetic coherence from apparently banal situations. Los Guantes Mágicos is an extraordinary and rare opportunity to enjoy the work of one of the most original and respected filmmakers of the New Argentine Cinema. -- © Cinema Tropical [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Reviews
Capello provides an engaging, deadpan performance, quietly acceding to his increasingly convoluted living and working arrangements, and finding solace in his own gentle style of disco-dancing.
The appeal here--and it's a strong one--comes from writer-director Rejtman's great understanding of, and empathy for, the comedy of life.
While the film suffers from a forced absurdity meant to invoke comedy and laughs along with a sluggish pacing, Rejtman captures the grim monotony of life well.
Depression, drugs and professional stasis commingle in The Magic Gloves, a limp urban comedy not nearly as whimsical as its title.
Only Rejtman's sharp eye for absurd detail and the bleakly subtle joke separates comedy from tragedy.
The Magic Gloves is a city symphony in which the metropolis seems an illusory maze and the melody is based on a refrain of recurring riffs.
The film's amusing running gags notwithstanding, Rejtman makes the mistake of adopting the depressed, disinterested feelings of his characters, confusing apathy for poetry.
An absurdist comedy about the 'luck' that robs a Buenos Aires cab driver, Alejandro, of everything but his love of disco dancing.


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