"People are crazy" is the first thing we heard from Carlitos at the start of "El Ángel". He too. His is an ordinary madness ("natural born chorro") but when he crosses with Ramón and his family will begin a story of love, dementia and death that has as a backdrop the dictatorship of Lanusse (1971). Moving like a fish in the water within the coordinates of the commercial cinema, Luis Ortega composes a fascinating film, a huge poetry (which at times borders the surrealism of Buñuel or Favio) and an impeccable actor´s direction. Two hours full of anthological scenes, lines of dialogue to remember, motorcycles, girls, weapons, vinyls, motels and cigarette smoke. The blood is few because the shots go through the daring lines of dialogue between the characters. Everything that in "History of a Clan" was lynchean perversion and obscurity becomes pop insanity here, mounted on a musical cavalcade that astutely emphasizes every moment and includes La Joven Guardia, Pappo's Blues, Manal, Gigliola Cinquetti, Leonardo Favio, Piazzolla, variations on Charlie Parker, Johnny Tedesco and -of course- King Palito Ortega (father of the director) in two very moving moments of the plot. Lorenzo Ferro debuts before the camera without any previous experience in the performance. He has the face, the gesture and the intensity of a cinematographic animal and holds the entire film with his adolescent androgyny. Chino Darin once more demonstrates that - well managed - he can become a Pasolinian subject. In addition to his sexual magnetism a la Brando, he has a special aura to compose tragic roles. The Fanego / Morán duo is irresistibly morbid. And near the end comes a wonderful Peter Lanzani, close to the Denis Hopper of "Easy Rider" in argento mode or John Voight´s midnight cowboy walking on the streets of Buenos Aires. The photo and color correction of the duo Apezteguía / Russo moves between blood red and a stifling cyanotic. The reconstruction of the era is splendid. The film has everything to become the Panzer tank of the Argentine industry. But at the same time it's an instant classic. Chapeau Ortega.
