Lack of good storyline.

just watch it!

Brilliant and touching

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A few years back, I was advising a Francophile mate of the virtues of the wonderful French comedy, The Intouchables. I mentioned also that the subtitling was superb. 'How would you know?' he asked, aware that I had but a smattering of schoolboy French. I explained that the grammar and syntax was perfect, and colloquialisms clearly caught the spirit of the piece - you simply forgot you were reading script, allowing you to concentrate on the visuals. Sadly, the taut Argentine crime thriller,The Clan, looks as if it's been subtitled by a dyslexic alcoholic using Google translate. It was extremely frustrating. I was clearly watching a very well made film, based on real events, about a Mafiosa-style family engaged in kidnapping and extortion; this was at a time, the 1980s, when the government was up to similar tactics - many dissidents simply disappeared. Keeping Police and officials sweet, the family could act with near impunity. Everything about the film - its story, pacing, acting, direction was top notch. But the constantly poor subtitling proved too great a distraction and detracted from the film itself. I can recommend the film without hesitation to any fluent Spanish speakers among you.

I am flummoxed as to why people liked this film. I found it sickening and alienating. The upbeat music seemed totally inappropriate for the horrifying scenes unfolding before us and trivialised what was real suffering, violence and death that happened to real people. And I was particularly revolted by the juxtaposition of a sex scene interleaved with a violent kidnapping, overlaid with frantic music.The movie was confusing, too. I had hoped to be given some context of the political scene in Argentina in which this crime arose, but we were plunged right into the thick of things via a series of flashbacks and disconnected scenes which we were expected to piece together (while madly reading subtitles, for those of us who don't speak Spanish). Only near the end do we discover, casually, that Puccio was connected to the Intelligence services, and his history with them is never fully explained.I felt relieved when the movie drew to a close and the perpetrators were caught. It was at this point that Puccio revealed his truly revolting narcissism and manipulativeness. I had felt repelled by him throughout, but by the end I just felt glad to be shot of him and his whole morally dubious family.

Near the end of the "Spanish Film Festival" in Perth, I saw "The Clan" which tells the story of Puccio's, a family of well off Argentinians who kidnap the wealthy for ransom and hold them in their home. Headed by menacing patriarch Arquímedes Puccio, the film is based on true events, being set between 1981 and 1985 in the aftermath of the fascist Videla regime. Arquimedes worked for the government, helping subversives "disappear", so when he was out a job, he moved onto kidnapping for profit.Helping him alongside his gang of thugs is his son, Alejandro, a rugby player whose aspirations are higher than living a life of crime.The father-son dynamic makes The Clan quite an interesting watch, setting it apart from other typical true crime dramas. I was invested in the plot and the strong acting from Guillermo Fancella and Juan Pedro Lanzani. The movie is very stylish as well, taking a page from Martin Scorsese movies, having interesting camera setups, never shying away from sex and violence, and sometimes telling the movie out of order.That said, the rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting, and are really more in the background, only having lines to forward the plot. The movie has a lot of attention paid to the kidnappings, but the formula of showing long, fluid takes that have English pop music playing in the background got a bit tiresome during the middle of the second act when it took focus away from Alejandro, and more on Arquimedes' other son, who returned home after away playing rugby. It would have also been interesting to have seen some more of Aquimedes' past, instead of it just being show in the opening, and then mentioned in passing.While it isn't the most original movie in its presentation, it's an interesting one, and a good place to start if you want to get into watching foreign-language films that are entertaining and accessible.

Wow, i just got back from watching this one at the cinema, here in Argentina and i will say that the hype matches the movie! The movie portrays a dark time in Argentinian history. Just after the dictatorship of Vidella had ceased, the country was rebuilding, however scraps from the dark days were still around, in particular associations that specialised in kidnappings back in the day. Looking to continue their business, they were offered protection from parts of the military, and "El Clan" depicts the story of the Puccio Clan. A family who kidnapped and killed many people in the 80s. Pablo Trapero is a household name amongst Argentinian cinema, so it wasn't a surprise that he chose such a disturbing story, as his other films have taken on similar dark tones. This movie wreaks of quality. From the very haunting imagery, to the authentic 80s soundtrack, to the phenomenal acting from Argentine comedian Guillermo Francella, all of these elements combine with the very disturbed story, to make a movie that catapults Argentine cinema to the front runner in the Latino area! Shocking violence along with the disturbing elements of human behaviour elevates this movie beyond an easy viewing experience, but if you are prepared to delve into a very dark, yet intriguing story, then you will come away from "El Clan" very satisfied!