Originally published September 19, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
Our Last Tango, 2017.
Directed by German Kral.
Starring Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes.
SYNOPSIS:
Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes are two of the world’s most acclaimed and popular Tango dancers in the world. This documentary recounts their almost 50-year partnership, with its ups, downs, successes, and failures, intercut with episodes from their life as depicted by a new generation of tango dancers.
I’m not much of a dancer dear readers. Aside from a series of humiliating dance classes that I had to take during my school years, I have absolutely no talent when it comes to dancing, aside from being able to tap my toes to a song I like the sound of.
However, the likes of Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes are a different story, being not only excellent dancers but possibly two of the most acclaimed dancers in the world, with the pair helping to bring the Tango out of the clubs of Argentina and into the wider world.
It is the story of these two incredibly talented individuals that is the focus of the Tango focused documentary Our Last Tango, a film that will be 80 minutes of heaven for all dance enthusiasts, but one that might try the patience of those who can barely shuffle their feet.
The format of the film is for the most part your standard “here’s our story” documentary, with it featuring the obligatory talking head interviews, primarily Maria and Juan themselves, as they discuss their time together from their meeting as teenagers, their stormy romantic relationship, their passionate creative partnership and their sudden and unfortunate break up.
The stories and observations the two offer are full of humour, sadness, passion, and pathos, with the two seeming to have a rather mixed view of each other since their breakup, with Maria (who is arguably the film’s primary focus) especially seems to suggest that she hates (or at least strongly dislikes) Juan.
However, what remains consistent in all their stories and observations is their mutual respect as artists for of each other and they are full of praise for one another’s mastery of the Tango and of the importance of the dance in each others lives, with Maria poignantly discussing how the Tango to her, offered an escape from her poverty-stricken upbringing.
The most creative part of the film is the various dance sequences in which a collection of incredibly talented dancers take on the role of Maria and Juan at various points in their lives, intercut with the dancers speaking with Maria about how she felt at a certain point in her life, as well as offering their own observations. These sequences are probably the highlights of the film, with the performers displaying some truly impressive choreography, with them making what the Tango (a dance I assume is difficult to master) look enviously easy to perform.
While the interviews might offer interesting stories and the dance sequences might be impressive, the film really doesn’t have all that much else to offer. We have a bit of an interview followed by a bit of a dance, some more interview, then more dancing, interview, dance and rinse and repeat for about 80 minutes till the credits. It’s not a bad format to adopt for a film like this, and let’s face it, it’s an approach that most documentaries on an art form like dance follow, but it does leave the film feeling very repetitive and can be a tad boring after an hour or so.
Whether or not you’ll enjoy Our Last Tango depends entirely on whether or not you like the Tango or dancing. Dance aficionados (especially if they do the Tango) will probably find the film a fascinating and enjoyable watch, and perhaps it could prove helpful in examining the more philosophical and mental aspects of the dance. However, those who couldn’t care less about dancing would be best to give this one a miss.
All in all, Our Last Tango is a fine enough documentary about two incredibly talented individuals who are the masters of what they do, with some terrifically choreographed dance sequences aiding in the telling of their story. It’s just a shame that I’m not a big dance fan.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
