Topical Guide 270
Mark Dorset
Dance: The Tango
Lorna was surprised to find that the thought that he was going to leave in a minute or two made her feel colder suddenly, as if a breeze had come up, though the air was still. Something told her to hide the feeling from Herb. That something, that damned something, was the sense of personal dignity that is one of our most civilized attributes, the source of so many of our discontents, the cause of so many missed opportunities. I make that judgment nearly seventy years after the fact, but I have support for it from May Castle:
Oh, you know it’s just the damnedest thing, isn’t it, the way we hold ourselves back! Of course, in the long run it’s probably for the best that we do, or we’d be throwing ourselves at half the people we meet and throwing stones at the others. But how many times have I said to myself, “Oh, damn! Why didn’t I let myself go and try dancing the tango?” Well, that may not be the best example — I always do try dancing the tango whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I’ve gotten quite good at it over the years — which is just my point, isn’t it?
Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 5
The Tango Lesson 1997
Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Sally Potter, Pablo Veron, Gustavo Naveira, Fabian Salas, David Toole, …
The Tango Lesson (Spanish: La lección de tango) is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a semi-autobiographical film starring Potter and Pablo Verón, about Argentinian Tango. The film, a co-production of Argentina, France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, was produced by Christopher Sheppard in Britain and Oscar Kramer in Argentina, and was shot mostly in black and white in Paris and Buenos Aires. The soundtrack includes original recordings of Carlos Gardel’s “Mi Buenos Aires querido” and Ástor Piazzolla’s “Libertango,” two of the most iconic tangos in the history of the genre. It also includes an original song written and sung by Potter.
Wikipedia
My personal assessment of The Tango Lesson:
It is essentially about art, the making of art, and the artist’s struggle to maintain control over the elements of a work of art, and it’s one of the sexiest movies I’ve ever seen. Don’t miss it. MD
[more to come on Tuesday, May 31, 2022]
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