Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: DANTE [Tribeca Film Festival - New York, New York]
"Dante" [Escape From Tribeca] is supposed to be the second part of a supposed trilogy but in its optimism it is about that piece of perfection that follows us but perhaps cannot be captured. The film starts with a vicious car crash that sets the stage for a single night play where a paramedic Eduardo (Chino Darin) is suckered into an evening of darkness and intrigue by gangsters looking to find that next score. All those involved save for Eduardo and a female cousin constantly lose sight of where or who they are. The initial set inside an apartment gets more and more brutal before playing out in a series of vignettes between the paramedic, a hopped up gangster who betrays his boss and his cousin, a tough as nails fatale who knows how to play, what the game is and definitely what is possible. Eduardo is a character that speaks to something darker when he speaks about his short films but as they sink deeper (one overdose scene is interestingly done), there are glimmers of humanity but the way perception works is 20/20.
Chemi is the big baddie and when we finally get to him, it is like something out of an anime (and the lighting in the final sequence is exceptionally done) but what director Hector Ruiz does is create a film that is not really Spanish in its sensibilities but more South Korean perhaps (which he made reference to on the Q&A). Many of the characters are scary but the kid who plays Jr ha a viciousness than almost sets up what could happen with Eduardo later on. Ruiz does an interesting shot at the end that is meant to be a foreshadow and really catches you but it really leads to something else. That angle of the story is supposed to be the big twist. The pivot is cool especially from an acting standpoint but the question: what is the end game? Chino has that Matthew Rhys quality that shines through. But "Dante" is not so much about the context of hell but of the human behavior than motivates it. B
By Tim Wassberg
