1946 – Gilda

It’s an american noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Rita Hayworth as Gilda, Glenn Ford as Johnny Farrell and George Macready as Ballin Mundson in a deliciously elegant antagonist role. It’s the story about a gambler rediscovering his old girlfriend in Argentina, only she’s out for revenge and is married to his new boss. I rented it on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

One of the reasons movies are so special to us is they often transport us to a world that is far beyond our reach. Whether it’s a fantasy adventure like Lord of the Rings or a historic epic like Gladiator, heck, even a Western like The Searchers, you are wholly in an unfamiliar setting. What has become less and less prevalent, are movies about far away lands, the exoticism, coupled with opportunity of a clean slate. Even growing up, the movies of the 80s and 90s were often: “I did a crime, I’m going to Mexico!”. 80 years ago, every country outside our own seemed ripe and full of possibilities, because we didn’t know any better. The world of sophisticated and elegant actors, a dream to journey on for riches.

Today, nothing is exotic anymore, every little cafe in the middle of nowhere has a Google review and GPS makes sure you aren’t lost even in the deepest jungle or the most arid landscape. I’ve been fascinated this year reading about Point Nemo or the adventures of wandering to Bir Tawil, the last truly unknown places. It seems I am not alone with this feeling, one of my favorite YouTubers expressed as much for the way we travel, in that it somehow lost its magic.

So it was nice to travel back in time with this movie, to a place where you could Tabula Rasa your way in – Buenos Aires, Argentina (and also Montevideo later) seemed exotic enough. The war had just ended, the world full of possibilities for gamblers and sinners to start anew.

And boy does this movie look great. It’s not for nothing that Andy Dupree was stricken by Rita Hayworth and put her up on that wall in The Shawshank Redemption, that flick with the hair inmortailized. The hip action in her songs – what amazing rendition of Put the Blame on Mame dubbed in by Anita Ellis. And even old Johnny chap is very nice on the eyes. I only ever knew him for being Pa Kent in Superman, but that smirk and the way he leans… swoon. And the electricity between them is crackling, apparently it was real and they become “on again, off again” lovers during the filming of the movie.

But the plot is a convoluted mess, haha. As I said, go for the exotics, the elegance, the worldliness, but not for the story. Of course the villain is somehow involved with the Germans. Of course the elegant local policeman will be the one handing out sage advice. Of course our hero is a plucky american, a little rough on the edges, but with a little gamble in him, he’ll get what he want. At least the ending didn’t quite adhere to noir tropes. So an entertaining movie all around and a great escape to a time when you could just “escape” to Argentina – just don’t try looking for logic and please overlook the millions of plot holes.