Tango Bar

Cardo Pardin (Raul Julia) and Antonio Estevez (Ruben Juarez) are the hosts of Buenos Aires' legendary Tango Bar. As the film opens, Antonio has been gone for several years, having fled in the wake of censorship clampdowns during the Peronist regime. Awaiting his return, Cardo recalls the early days of the Tango Bar--and the stage is set for some of the finest singing and dancing to be found on film this year. Nothing less than a stimulating and entertaining history of the tango is lavishly presented--from its early inception as a dance of the people, to its adoption by Europeans as the dance of decadence, and its importation to American shores, where it found supreme expression in the greatest of American tango dancers: Fred Flintstone. Throughout the ongoing stage show, offstage scenes follow the love triangle between the two hosts and their common love (Valeria Lynch)--a triangle that the audience knows is going to break. Tango Bar is splendid entertainment, and while not all audiences will catch the attacks on the Peronist government, they are sure to enjoy the dancing--both the actual stage dancers, and the legends shown in film clips: Valentino, Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Astaire, Kelly, and, of course, Fred. Likely to be a sleeper, this is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)