La Antena (The Ariel - 2007)
R2 / PAL DVD
Dogwoof Pictures / 2008
Directed by Esteban Sapir
Written by Esteban Sapir
Cast: Alejandro Urdapilleta, Valeria Berucceli & Sol Moreno
Review by: Phillip Escott

The inhabitants of an entire city have lost their voice. The city's more powerful man, and head of the only television network, conspires to take more than that, it's up to one family, and the last remaining person in the city with the ability to speak, to bring him and his mob down. The heroic bunch are met by machine-gun totting guns and the rat-like chauffeur of the station owner, aptly named Mr. TV, at every turn – saving the city will not be easy!

La Antena is simply beautiful. It's movie-making and its finest and is like nothing you will have seen before; it's a visual tour de force that will leave you with your jaw flat on the floor. Using a classical film-noir aesthetic, very similar to Alex Proyas's Dark City, with luscious black and white photography it's eye candy of the highest order. Harking back to the days of silent movies, La Antena uses clever techniques to aide with the dialogue that is spoken, yet not heard. Giant speech bubbles fill the screen and get slapped off screen or crushed in the palms of characters hands!

As experimental as the flick is, it never alienates the audience. Think of Tim Burton at his most visionary and Hitchcock's ability to tell a story via Fritz Lang and you have some idea of how this film plays. It's a film-lovers wet-dream and one that will be cherished by all of those looking for something a little different in their cinematic adventures. La Antena is a movie that you will happily wish to re-visit, time and time again.

• Screen Format: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / B&W
• Audio: Spanish / Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English,
• Running time: 98 mins.

• Trailer

La Antena is a total success. If you enjoy expressionist, or silent-era, movies and would love to see how a modern film-maker can tackle these great genres then look no further. This film truly is a boost to the blood stream of modern Latin cinema, proving that they can pretty much tackle any genre they want and produce something truly worthwhile. Let's hope they can continue this winning trend! La Antena comes HIGHLY recommended.

“A visual tour de force!”