New Argentine Cinema

London: I. B. Tauris, 2011.

Without proposing a canon of ‘must-see films’, New Argentine Cinema offers an ambitious tour through a large number of films, often providing meticulous descriptions of their scenes as well as detailed plot summaries in an effort to
demonstrate how camera techniques, editing and other formal aspects contribute to building affect. However, the book offers its most innovative segments when it delves into previously unexplored topics such as video collectives—a section that contains a list of little-known documentaries about workers and minorities and provides a valuable resource for scholars seeking information on this heretofore ignored area of film studies. Similarly, film scholars will particularly appreciate Andermann’s innovative examination of lesser-known feature films such as El custodio (The Bodyguard by Rodrigo Moreno, 2006). The analysis of Julio Chávez’s actoral performance in this film is one of this book’s best argued and most original contributions. Likewise, his deft examination of Estrellas (Federico León and Marcos Martínez, 2007) addresses other areas that have received relatively scant critical attention: the thorny issue of casting politics, the implications of the pervasive use of non-professional actors and the relationship of cinema to other media.