EIFF: Café de los Maestros - Review by Miriam Ross

Director: Miguel Kohan

Running Time: 98 mins
Thu 26 Jun, 22:15
Cameo 1

Tango is normally known for its fiery dance steps but any true Argentinean will be able to talk of the grand masters - singers and musicians - that give the music its soul. It is within this vein that Café de los Maestros portrays a number of the oldest and most successful maestros still working. One of the key points to emerge in this documentary is that the golden age of the 40s and 50s has passed and that the industry is steeped in nostalgia for those times. While the live recording of the maestros performing at the grand Teatro Colon will thrill any tango fan, it adds twenty minutes to a documentary that already feels quite long. The film does not contain either the depth of feeling that Carlos Saura’s fictional Tango brings to the art form or the kind of background material necessary for unaware audiences, making this a film strictly for tango enthusiasts.