FILM 12: Tony Manero, dir. Pablo Larraín, 2008

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Tony Manero (Chile, 2008)

F9. Tony Manero (Chile, 2008). Directed by Pablo Larraín (b. 1976-)
Screenplay by Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren and Pablo Larraín
Coproduction of Chile and Brazil
DVD. 97 mins.
Synopsis:
“Raúl Peralta, a middle-aged criminal in 1970's Chile, is obsessed with the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever. Every Saturday evening, he unleashes his passion for the film's music by imitating his idol and leading a small group of dancers as they perform at a bar in the outskirts of the city. His dream of being recognized as a successful showbiz star is about to become a reality when a Tony Manero impersonating contest is announced on national television. However, his obsession to reproduce his idol's likeness and perfect his act drives him to commit a series of violent crimes and thefts, leading to shocking violence and murder.”    

Cast:
Alfredo Castro            Raúl Peralta
Amparo Noguera        Cony
Héctor Morales           Goyo
Paula Lattus                Paoli

Questions:
1    What do you think Raúl’s motives are for killing the older lady after helping her home after she has been mugged?  Do you think this is the first murder he has committed?
2    What other murders does he commit, or is he about to commit, in the course of the film?
3    Do you think Raúl is a real dance instructor or has he just become one in order to produce and present his version of the dances from Saturday Night Fever?
4    In what year is this film set? How far is it into the Pinochet dictatorship? Are there any indications of Raúl’s political leanings?  
5    Why does Raul, along with so many other Chileans of his time, have an obsession with Tony Manero or with some other Hollywood actor?
6    In what way does imitation of foreign cultural models, and rejection of local or national ones, benefit a dictatorship?
7    Describe the familial and sexual relations among the various members of the troup.
8    What are Goyo’s musical and political inclinations? Why is Cony concerned that he is involving Paoli in them?
9    Is Raúl a dictator within his dance troupe? In what ways can he be compared to Pinochet?
10     To what extent is Raúl another victim of the dictatorship? 
11    What do you make of Raúl’s obsession with the number of buttons on the fly of Tony Maner’s dance suit? 
12 Why does Raúl defecate on Goyo’s Tony Manero suit, rather than kill him? 
13 How does the audio track contribute to a feeling of tension in the film?
14 How do you interpret the many instances of Raúl running through the streets of Santiago?
15 In what instances do we witness the curfew being enforced and of the military harassing or killing citizens? What is the effect of having these instances be few and far between?