The Truce (1974 film)

The Truce (Spanish: La tregua) is a 1974 Argentine romantic drama film directed by Sergio Renán and based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Mario Benedetti. It was the first Argentine film to be nominated for an Academy Award (the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film).

The Truce
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySergio Renán
Written byAída Bortnik
Sergio Renán
Based onThe Truce by Mario Benedetti
Produced byRene Aure
Tita Tamames
Rosa Zemborain
StarringHéctor Alterio
Luis Brandoni
Ana María Picchio
Marilina Ross
CinematographyJuan Carlos Desanzo
Edited byÓscar Souto
Music byJulián Plaza
Release date
  • August 1, 1974 (1974-08-01)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryArgentina
LanguageSpanish

It was selected as the eighth greatest Argentine film of all time in a poll conducted by the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken in 1984, while it ranked 6th in the 2000 edition.[1] In a new version of the survey organized in 2022 by the specialized magazines La vida util, Taipei and La tierra quema, presented at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the film reached the 27 position.[2]

Plot

The film opens on Martín Santomé's (Héctor Alterio) 49th birthday, a widower and the father of three children: the eldest, the embittered Esteban (Luis Brandoni); the caring middle-child Blanca (Marilina Ross) and Jaime (Oscar Martínez), a closeted homosexual. He goes to work thinking they have forgotten his birthday, and once at the office, he assigns two new employees to their jobs: the effeminate, nervous Santini (Antonio Gasalla) and the young Laura (Ana María Picchio), with whom he soon develops a bond. Back home, Martín is surprised with a party thrown by his children.

After having a one-night stand with a woman he met on the bus (Norma Aleandro), Martín starts going through a series of events that alter his life completely. Santini has a nervous breakdown at work and rants against the complacency of his co-workers; he is subsequently replaced, though the breakdown marks Martín and forces him to look at his own life. His son Jaime finally comes out and decides to leave home to save the family from embarrassment and further complications. Topping it all, Martín, who has befriended Laura, professes his love for her at a café and implores her to look beyond the age difference (he is 49, she is 24) and give him a chance. She accepts.

The two start dating and Martín regains his wont of living. Their relationship never falters, and hints of infidelity are quickly dismissed. He moves into her apartment, forsaking his son and daughter (who starts dating a man herself). This upsets Esteban even more, who blames his father for giving him a mediocre life. Martín implores him that it is never late to change, and they reconcile.

The film's climax begins with the untimely demise of Laura, who contracts flu and dies from heart failure shortly thereafter. Martín once again regains his bleak view of life and the world. He realizes that his romance with Laura was nothing but "a truce with life". The film ends on an ambiguous tone, as Esteban tries to comfort his father, roles inverted, and the camera centers on Martín, leaning against the wall, looking more hopeless than ever.

Cast

Background

Argentine actor Sergio Renán had been performing in films since 1951 under the direction of noted filmmakers Mario Soffici, Lucas Demare and three times under Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. It was in his last collaboration with Torre Nilsson, in 1973, that he met fellow co-stars Héctor Alterio and Norma Aleandro. A year later he would cast them both in a starring role and a cameo appearance respectively in his film debut, La tregua.

A year after its release, La tregua was submitted to the Academy Awards (the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) and won a nomination (the first Academy Award nomination in Argentine film history) but lost out to Federico Fellini's Amarcord.[3][4] The film has since gained cult status in Argentina. A Mexican remake was made in 2003.

See also

Notes
  1. "Las 100 mejores del periodo 1933-1999 del Cine Argentino". La mirada cautiva. Buenos Aires: Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken (3): 6–14. 2000. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022 – via Encuesta de cine argentino 2022 on Google Drive.
  2. "Top 100" (in Spanish). Encuesta de cine argentino 2022. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  3. "The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  4. Schwartz, Latin American Films, 1932 - 1994, p. 249

References
  • Schwartz, Ronald, Latin American Films, 1932 - 1994. McFarland. Jefferson, North Carolina. 1997. ISBN 0-7864-0174-5
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