Rojo – Review

In an Argentina province, 1975, the film opens in Granada in a neighborhood with people carrying objects out of a nice home, each leaving with something in hand. Clearly the stuff inside is up for grabs, as the home it being cleared out… but what is this about? We cut to Claudio Morán (Grandinetti) perusing a menu at a crowded restaurant, waiting for his wife Susana (Frigerio). He is bullied out of his table by a rude man (Cremonesi), who is ready to order now, and notices that Claudio’s wife isn’t there yet so clearly the table is being hogged. Claudio relents the table, but the rude man still bitches over the scenario.

Claudio gracefully and publicly lambasts the man, breaking down his crap behavior while blaming his parents for his upbringing, and how he feels sorry for him, as these horrible interactions with strangers must happen to this man all the time. A pile of awkward moments makes up this grown man’s life, one after another, as he watches others go about their lives in harmony. This man’s life will always be a mess. Ouch. This observational burn by Claudio cuts the man to the core. He loses it and attacks the entire restaurant before being thrown out by the staff. Ah, looks like the table is available again, and Claudio’s wife is finally there!

This scene shows Claudio’s core characteristics. He is calm, intelligent and understands human behavior. Makes sense, as he is a lawyer. After a nice evening of dining with Susana, as they head home, the awful man from the restaurant impedes their car. He throws rocks through the windows, and leads Claudio on a chase into the darkness before attacking him. Things get even weirder as this interaction progresses…

This strange setup leads to a slow-moving whirlwind of a story. As the months pass, political turmoil heats up, as the government creates world tension and looks to suppress regime change. This background enhances the suspense, as our lawyer Claudio is roped into a scheme involving the house that was cleared out in the opening scene, and has past events to wrestle with. Character choices throughout will come back around.

Rojo is very well put together, and features excellent acting and direction. While it is deliberately paced, I never found myself bored and was happy to see the tale through to its conclusion. The varied characters feel authentic and all thrive in the presented story, whether you like them or not. Acting is very good and the direction is steady. The elements of human nature, crime, and politics play well off of each other, enhancing the overall atmosphere.