The last applause Synopsis
The film tells the emotional story of a group
of forgotten Tango singers, who used to perform together in a famous
Tango Bar in Buenos Aires. Battling to earn a living during the country’s
biggest-ever economic crisis, these singers come together to realize
their dream: to give one last concert and to bask in the warm audience
applause, maybe for the last time in their lives … The History: For many years Pompeya, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, had a very special Tango bar: „El Bar del Chino“. The place was named after its owner, El Chino, (the Chinese), who had nothing whatsoever to do with China. His real name was Jorge García (71) and his forefathers were Spanish immigrants. El Chino was an exceptional man, for whom the only thing in life that mattered, apart from his son, was to get together with his friends to sing Tango. And this he did every Friday and Saturday night for over 30 years. Accompanied only by a guitar and enough wine to loosen the vocal chords, friends and neighbours would get together to sing Tango in his bar. In the end “El Bar del Chino” had become so famous that you had to book just to get a place somewhere in the corner of this crowded bar. The recipe for success was the down-to-earth, honest Tango ambience, simple and without make-up, the quality of all the singers, but also the presence of a very special woman: Cristina de los Ángeles (55), who once recorded some records, lived for a while in New York, but never really found fame or love. Every night Cristina would open the show with the same words: If you clap I’ll lose my shyness! And after a hearty applause she would give her soul to the audience and sing the most beautiful Tangos that have ever been written about love, sadness and the marvellous, melancholic city of Buenos Aires. On the 21st August 2001, a few months after his only son’s death, Jorge García, alias El Chino, died suddenly. On this very day, El Bar del Chino also started to die. Bad administration and internal squabbling between the new owners (DELFINA GARCÍA (68), El Chino’s widow and OMAR LAURÍA (68), her lover) and the singers scared the Tango-loving public away and a few weeks later the bar was empty. From this day onwards Cristina and the other singers hardly ever sang in public again. Using a direct documentary approach, the film will accompany Cristina, the protagonist, into the remotest corners of Buenos Aires on her quest to get together all the singers of El Chino for that last dream concert. Material shot in 2000/01 in „El Bar del Chino“ will be used as „flashbacks“, giving a taste of the bar in its glory days. Then back in the present, Cristina and her fellow singers will be seen in their every-day lives, struggling to eke out an existence in crisis-ravaged Argentina. Getting together to realize their humble dream gives them something to focus on, something to hope for. The rehearsals, the preparations for the concert, the breaks, the fights, the reconciliations, the moments of sadness and big joy are all part of the journey towards the realization of their last dream: to stand once more in the warm shower of the audience’s tumultuous applause. Other Characters: Amongst the friends and neighbours who sang at the bar, there were some other professionals who made a living from Tango, but whose best years were definitely behind them… Julio César Fernán (52) was one of the most promising young Tango singers in Buenos Aires in the 1970s. Unfortunately Tango is not his only passion: he also loves to gamble. Horses, the Lottery, casinos – you name it, he’s done it! Julio has never married and still lives with 87-year-old Mom in an old two-roomed apartment. Inés Arce (71) has been singing since the age of five. But, after the death of El Chino she hardly ever performed again. If she’s lucky she’ll get a job singing in a run-down restaurant. She misses the nights at El Chino and would give anything to sing with her friends one more time. ABEL FRÍAS (55), guitar player. He was born in the north of Argentina and came to Buenos Aires as a kid. Like most people from the country districts of Argentina he is as shy as he is good-hearted. For 18 years he played at El Chino’s bar every weekend without a break. One week after El Chino’s death, Abel left the bar and never returned. Structure and tone of the narration: It is our aim that “THE
LAST APPLAUSE” tells a strong, emotional story with one main
character: Cristina, and four secondary characters: Julio, Horacio,
Inés and Abel. Although all our protagonists live in situations that would bring the average European citizen to think seriously about suicide, they all continue to live their lives with energy and a strong sense of humor. For this reason, even if the economic and political crisis in Argentina will have an important place in the film, the overall tone of the documentary will not be “depressive”, but will rather convey the “energetic joy” with which these singers continue to lead their lives. Of course, there will be sad and conflicting moments, but we will never lose sight of the strength of our protagonists to fight and survive. We plan to tell the story of “THE LAST APPLAUSE” using a traditional 3-act-structure: 1st Act: 2nd Act:
3rd Act: Documentary approach: Although we will begin the shooting of the film with a treatment, it is essential to reiterate that our number one commandment during the shoot will be authenticity and spontaneity. We intend to be guided by the protagonists as they live through the formation of the band, the preparation of the concert and the concert itself. In this sense then our protagonists will “write” the story and not us. Hence our approach will be purely documentary and realistic. In order to strengthen the documentary tone of our film, we want the concert to take place within the wider context of the “Tango Dance World Championship”, which will take place in Buenos Aires between 17th - 27th August 2006. During this annual Tango Dance Championship, Buenos Aires is alive with Tango concerts and milongas (tango-dancing). The city is covered in posters announcing concerts and diverse Tango-related activities. And it is not unusual to see people of all age groups coming out of a club, a bar or a theatre and starting to tango in the middle of the street… The integration of our protagonists’ concert into the larger framework of the “Tango Dance World Championship” will without a doubt give the film a stronger emotional intensity and a deeper documentary truth. In order to heighten the musical quality of the film and the emotional intensity of the story, we are planning to let our protagonists meet up with one of the best-known young Tango bands in Argentina: “Orquesta Típica La Imperial”. They will perform together in that final concert. This will allow us to combine two musical generations with different histories and styles, but with a shared passion: The Tango. A Tango couple: Parallel to the story of the ex-singers from the Bar el Chino and the young Tango orchestra, we will tell the story of a couple of old Tango dancers (around 70 years old), who will be taking part during the “Tango Dance World Championship”. Our aim is to accompany them not only during the ten days of the competition, but also through their preparations and rehearsals for the Championship. The clear and strong objective of this couple: “To win the Tango Dance World Championship”, will be an excellent focus to keep the dramatic tension of the story. : “THE LAST APPLAUSE” is the story of a dream that comes true. The film will hardly change the economic situation of our protagonists. It will not put an end to poverty in Argentina. But it will surely give these people, who have hardly anything left in their lives but their singing, back some dignity, the pride of being good at something and being acknowledged for that with a very simple thing: The applause of their audience. |
DETAILS  Director: German Kral Production Year: Completed - 2008 Genre: Documentary Language: Spanish Download: PressKit (PDF) |
