Tango libre (2012) Online

A witty French language film set in a prison and about the relationship of the tango dance to the characters. To dance the tango a person must have passion and freedom of movement; from dancing the tango one can gain freedom: Freedom from the monotony of prison, sexual freedom and even physical escape.

Jean-Christophe (Damiens) is an unassuming prison guard who brightens his dull existence by tending to his fish and dancing at a weekly tango class. One evening he accompanies a new participant to the class, Alice (Anne Paulicevich), and finds himself strongly attracted to her. He is shocked to discover that she is the wife and friend of two inmates where he works: Fernand (Sergi Lopez), her husband, and Dominic (Jan Hammenecker), his side-kick. Intrigued and puzzled by Alice's relationship with the two men he becomes entangled in their lives and eventually compromises his position to help the men escape the prison.

The film is a complex tale of Alice's criminal family and the pressures of prison. Weaving through it all is the tango, a passionate dance that requires one to have suffered in order to dance it well. The film shows all the characters, including the male prisoners, learning to tango, the latter being taught by L'Argentin (Frumboli) a much feared inmate. Watching male prisoners learn to tango is funny and moving too.

As well as being witty, the film is an original take on criminals, their lives and jail breaks, with strong performances and some excellent dance scenes. The film is as unassuming as Jean-Christophe and like many French endeavours offers insight into human relationships as an extra to its comedic plot.

The way tango is presented in this film is beautiful and remarkable. The inmates of a jail house - each one with a harsh appearance - are enchanted by the practice of tango, shown to them by two Argentinian inmates. They decide to practice in the court of the jail and as they practice, they make blow a breeze of freedom in the jail house. This happens because Fernand asks to an Argentinian inmate to teach him to dance tango because he wants to captivate his wife Alice who is dancing tango with the prison guard JC, in a school of tango. The practice of tango allows men to compete in dexterity, elegance and virility. It reminds the Brazilian "capoeira" which is at the same time dance and fight. Each actor is good playing his character. The problem is that the story is crazy or surrealistic in more than one aspect. (1) The relationship of Alice with Fernand and Dominic. These two guys are close friends and share the same woman Alice. They were sharing Alice before being imprisoned. Alice is legally married to Fernand but she in love with both men. Dominic is the father of Alice son, Antonio. Fernand treats Antonio as his own son. (2) The reaction of the prison guard, JC, with respect to the situation. In spite of being aware of what is going on with the trio Alice-Fernand-Dominic, JC falls in love with Alice, turning things much more complicated, especially for him. (3) The final decision of JC to release Fernand and Dominic to make the trio happy. (4) The final scene in which JC runs off with the trio and Antonio, because the trio decides to drive back and pick him up, is the craziest scene. The film is a good entertainment because its development is not predictable and the final scene is very funny: every body gets free, by miracle.