"Rojo" is an Argentine movie that runs for minimally under 110 minutes and this one premiered back in 2018, so it is not really very new anymore, but still, it took until very recently for the movie to reach German theaters and there are probably many other countries where it hasn't even started yet. This on the one hand has to do with the pandemic, but on the other also generally with the distance between my country and the country of origin. The title is as simple as it gets and it includes the color you see in the background here. With the German title they added a lot more text to the title, namely the words "If everybody is silent, then nobody is innocent". Not sure I like that. it does soound a bit pretentious. Should have kept it simple. The film does not need these pseudo thrilles either. Of course, it is in the Spanish language from beginning to end. The writer and direcctor is Benjamín Naishtat and he as only 30 or so when he made this one, so pretty young still and nonetheless an experienced filmmaker who has worked in both fields, direction and screenplays since the age of 20 or minimally over. But this film we have here you could say is his biggest success so far and it will probably also result in him making a transition to Hollywood sooner or later. I hope that, no matter what he does and where he does it that the quality will be accordingly because the quality is strong, especially at the film's peak and the man could very well have another half century of movies ahead of him. I'm curious what we will be getting. Now as for this one here: I am not an expert from any perspective when it comes to Argentine films, so I cannot really elaborate on the cast. I see though that it was not just the film itself and the production values that scored success at the nationan film award ceremonies, but the cast also received many accolades. This most of all applies to Darío Grandinetti and he sure deserved it. He carried the movie and every time he was not on the screen and there are some lengthy sequences, the quality went south, so I was glad when he returned. Luckily it did not take too long most of the time. Actually he was so fine in some scenes that I am tempted to check out his other stuff. Some of it. I shall also mention Castro and Cremonesi because these two convinced me as well. the first half hour or so, maybe a little shorter, was without a doubt the film's highlight, while the latter scenes with Detective Sinclait may not have been equally strong, but still among the better moments the film had to answer.

Now I am deep in the story already. Let me say that the protagonist looked a bit like a mix of Gene Hackman Sean Connery to me here and there. Admittedly, sometimes not at all. Not the 90-year-old Hackman or Connery in 2020, but for example in the film for which they won their Oscars. But let's not drift too far away now. There was another actor/character here who reminded me a bit of another more famous English-language actor, but I don't remember who it was. Not too important either. What is important is the scene atg the restuarnt very early on and how it had me on the edge of my seat. One of the finest sequences I have seen all year and I have seen a lot. Immediately afterwards, the action moves out of the restaurant and we see the two men fighting again with the result of one of them beieng severly wounded. Is it possible to save his life? Maybe. Maybe not. The desert knows no mercy though. The next thing we get is a massive jump ahead in time. We find out a bit about much younger characters, who are linked with the male protagonist, but the lawyer is quickly confronted with his past again when he recognizes his attacker on a photo. Quite a coincidence, but it still worked. And while those scenes wih the young woman, the dancer, are not too bad as we see her being "abducted" while dancing, see her with her boyfriend and how her period keeps her from getting busy (or she only pretends) and find out about a young man stepping into a car, which he maybe better should not have, there is nothing as convincing here as those scenes with Grandinetti. He and the cop are doing a fine job for the most part in the second half of the film, even if how the cop knows about it all basically surprised me in the end, even if it sounds somewhat plausible. It just came out of nowhere and apparently while knowing what happened he does not really have any evidence and that is why he returns to Buenos Aires. I kinda feel the main character here also could have made a nice antagonist in a Columbo movie, but never mind. The title is also a surprising choice because the red you see on the picture/poster here on imdb was far from as frequent as it was throughout the movie. There is a blood spot on the wall, there is discussion about period blood and a few other moments too, but what stays most in mind in terms of the color red is of course this eclipse sequence. Not too long, but very haunting visually. Also somewhat funny how a local there seemed so used to it already and I am not sure if such a phenomenon the way it is depicted here is even possible at all. Was it all just a dream sequence. This would explain how the cop absolutely out of nowhere kknew all this and his wish to be taken to the desert felt also very random. I would have liked it better if, i.e. the audience, had been lead there more slowly, but it's alright. It was not bad from any perspective that it truly hurt the movie overall Besides, it is so packed with symbolisms and metaphors that you will always discover something new here I'm sure. Also it is necessary thhough for you to constantly keep your attention high because otherwise you can lose the connection as it was the case for me once or twice in the middle part. I still enjoyed it, soemtimes even the heck out of it like very early on. The waiter's behavior was also interesting. Or everybody else's in the room. Flawless acted and depicted. Not much else to say. I am surprised that this film was not Argentina's submission to the Oscars, but maybe it is eligible now in 2020? Or maybe they simply went with something else. I personally have no hesitation in giving this film a thumbs-up, even if I must say it is not as enthusiastic as it could have been. Still go see it. It's worth it, even if I would say that with the exception of the previously mentioned red eclipse sequence, it is just as good a watch on your television screen than it is in your local theater. No need to rush things really. However, positively recommended for sure.

The beginning is awesome, there is a fantastic noir atmosphere, cinenatogphy is inspired, script is very wrll written (at least most of the time). However, the end is not in the same level of the film's development, and perhaps sone open parallel stoties should have had an end. Though, it is a good layered film and deals seriously with a horrible time in Latin American history.

This is not an easy movie to describe. And I think some historians have even more to say about the time this is playing (adding to the flavor of the country and the political backdrop). So there is a lot of baggage from the start, which some may be more aware than others. But even if you begin from zero, you can take a lot from this movie.

To do that, you have to be aware that the movie itself is not meant to excite you every other minute. Some may call it mundane, slow and even boring. Now that is valid depending on what your taste is like. So try not to judge someone who has the complete opposite opinion on this (or any other movie for that matter) than you. Overall I do think that the way this is shot and how it is played (excellent) made me go for the rating I chose. Again, it will not tickle everyone ... but those that will be intrigued by the characters and maybe the period and place it is playing, with everything that was going on back then ... they'll have fun - or the equivalent of it.