- Mexico
EL VIOLIN
Synopsis
Don Plutarco (Ángel Tavira) is an old farmer and musician who plays the violin with a single hand, the bow tied to the stump of his arm. With his son and grandson he travels through the villages, playing in squares and markets – while also supporting the guerrilla movement rising against the government. When the military occupies the village and drives out its inhabitants, the insurgents’ ammunition is left behind in the field. Plutarco returns to retrieve it and encounters the captain, who takes a liking to his music and demands lessons. Francisco Vargas tells, in “El Violín” (Mexico 2005), the story of a village’s resistance to oppression and of two people who reach an understanding through music.
The film is shot in black and white. It screened at Cannes in 2006 in the Un Certain Regard section, where Ángel Tavira, himself a musician and never before an actor, was named best actor; in Mexico, it went on to win three Ariel awards. “El Violín” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2007.
Festival
Shown at the 2007 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
