“Not for the faint of heart. . . . vital and strangely arresting.”—Hollywood Reporter

In an intense film set against the backdrop of General Pinochet’s late 1970s Chile, Alfredo Castro plays Raúl Peralta, an aging lowlife obsessed with Tony Manero, John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever. The film is rife with plot twists, and Peralta’s bleak and darkly comic reality descends into an unrestrained world that mimics the totalitarian regime all around him; he will stop at nothing to become his idol. “Not many filmmakers could hope to successfully combine disco and political oppression, but Pablo Larrain does so. Funny, foul and compelling” (Film 4). Chile’s 2009 Academy Awards official submission. 2008, in Spanish with English subtitles, 35mm, 98 minutes.

The Premieres: First Look series is made possible by generous support from Elizabeth Redleaf.

“Not for the faint of heart. . . . vital and strangely arresting.”—Hollywood Reporter

In an intense film set against the backdrop of General Pinochet’s late 1970s Chile, Alfredo Castro plays Raúl Peralta, an aging lowlife obsessed with Tony Manero, John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever. The film is rife with plot twists, and Peralta’s bleak and darkly comic reality descends into an unrestrained world that mimics the totalitarian regime all around him; he will stop at nothing to become his idol. “Not many filmmakers could hope to successfully combine disco and political oppression, but Pablo Larrain does so. Funny, foul and compelling” (Film 4). Chile’s 2009 Academy Awards official submission. 2008, in Spanish with English subtitles, 35mm, 98 minutes.

The Premieres: First Look series is made possible by generous support from Elizabeth Redleaf.