Synopsis

The Last Applause tells the emotional story of a group of old forgotten tango singers from Buenos Aires, who for many years used to perform together in one of the city’s most famous tango bars, the ‘Bar El 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 (70) and his forefathers were Spanish immigrants. ‘Bar El 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 ‘Bar El Chino’s’ success was the down-to-earth, honest, unpretentious true tango ambience, simple and without make-up, and the quality of all the singers, some of whom performed in the bar for almost 30 years. After the owner of the bar mysteriously died in 2001, it was taken over by his widow and her new partner. Just a couple of weeks later, this incredible place lay in ruins. The Last Applause follows the lives of these forgotten tango singers from 1999 until today. It shows their struggle to earn a living after the closure of the bar during the country’s biggest-ever economic crisis and their desperate dream to sing just one more time in front of an audience. After the old singers meet the young tango musicians of the ‘Orquesta Típica Imperial’ they are able 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…

감독

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  • 게르만 크랄
  • 1968년 부에노스아이레스에서 태어나 1991년 영화 공부를 위해 독일로 건너갔다. 처음 빔 벤더스와 함께 작업한 영화 < Die Gebruder Skladanowsky>가 1996년 베니스영화제에서 상영되었고, 빔 벤더스가 출연하기도 한 단편 <탱고베를린> 역시 1997년 베니스영화제에서 상영되었다. <부재의 이미지>는 1999년 일본 야마카타다큐멘터리영화제의 1등상과 2000년 바바리안 영 라이언 어워드를 수상했고, 2004년 베니스영화제 상영작인 <뮤지카 쿠바나> 역시 빔 벤더스가 제작한 작품이다.