Search - Burnt Money on DVD

Sophisticated, erotic, exciting masterpiece of a film

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"BURNT MONEY is another film from Argentina that places that country in the forefront of exemplary film making. After viewing this compelling movie of a retelling of a bank heist that occurred in Buenos Aires in 1965 one wonders why Hollywood has so much difficulty presenting credible and sensual male/male relationships. The chief characters in this story are two lovers (played to perfection by Leonardo Sbaraglia as 'Nene' and Eduardo Noriega II as 'Angel') who, known as The Twins, are hired to assist in a heist. This event occurs at the very beginning of this two hour film, leaving the rest of the movie to explore the intricate relationship between the lovers as they elude the law in their flight to Uruguay. The physical passion between thes two men is palable, erotic, and as profound as any love story to hit the screen. When the stress of the life of hiding drives Angel to focus on the 'voices' in his head, his physical withdrawal sends Nene outside the relationship to satisfy his sexual needs. One of these encounters is with a woman he meets in a bar and results in a confessional talk about his gayness and ultimately ends up in one of the most sensuously graphic sexual scenes since "Last Tango In Paris". Yes, in this story that is focused on a gay relationship, the sexual encounters filmed are heterosexual ones and very well filmed at that. The physical relationship between Nene and Angel is far less graphic and yet far more sensual for being so. Would that Hollywood could make gay characters so wholly three dimensional as Director Marcelo Pineyro does! The supporting cast includes more beautiful people than Sbaraglia and Noriega: Leticia Bredice and Dolores Fonzi play the sexy female roles and there is a cameo by cabaret singer Adriana Varela whose luminously sexual singing focuses the sensuality of this story completely. Well written, well photographed and well directed, BURNT MONEY starts on a high note and just gathers momentum right to the devastating climax. A superb film."

In Spain we say "one of the decade's most important films"

Ung Choi | Fort Lauderdale, FL EEUU | 08/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film, original title "Plata Quemada", totally is a complete deal.
The gay magazine of Espana, Zero magazine, calls this movie one of the most important films of the past 10 years. It represents perhaps the next film in gay movies where "gayness" is not the end-all-be-all focus of the film (as is the case in gay movies made by Hollywood)A wonderfully acted film with plenty of action and a gripping story. Plata Quemada is the story of the 2 principal bank robbers, Nene and Angel, one from Argentina, the other from Spain. They are lovers. But this is not a "gay film" in that the gayness is not the focus of the story. But it is central to understanding the emotional impact that this film carries. Think "Bonnie and Clyde" but Bonnie is a beautiful sexy muscular latin man. Based on true events that took place in Argentina and Uruguay in 1965, it is about a bank robbery gone wrong. But it is also about the 4 main characters and how they relate to each other. Unlike american films where american actors (gay and straight) seem so wooden and artificial when they play gay characters (i.e. Interview with a vampire Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt) due to their own fear of seeming "too genuinely gay", Spain has a wonderful history of straight actors who make you believe the passion and love between two men. Law of Desire with the very young Antonio Banderas as un chico obsessed with his boyfriend was one. This is another. Leonardo Sbraglia and one of Spain's major hunks, (el chulo) Eduardo Noriega, draw you into the tortured lives of 2 men who are weird, unbalanced and.... love each other without limits. The end of the movie had me longing for a love that was as strong as what these men show on screen. If you like a great story with great emotional content, lots of action, beautiful beautiful men both latin (Pablo Echarri y Leonardo Sbraglia) and spanish (Noriega) and a message that will get to you straight gay or whatever, get this movie."

Spanish heartthrobs topline true-crime drama

Libretio | 04/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
BURNT MONEY

[Plata Quemada]



(Spain/France/Uruguay - 2000)



Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital



Argentina, 1965: Following a botched robbery on an armored car, during which they stole money belonging to a corrupt police officer, two gay lovers - rebellious rich kid Nene (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and borderline schizophrenic Angel (Eduardo Noriega) - are forced to flee with their accomplices to Uruguay where they take refuge in a decaying apartment building. Continually denied sexual favors by Angel due to his worsening mental condition, Nene takes up with a sympathetic prostitute (Leticia Bredice), leading to jealousy, betrayal and tragedy...



Based on a non-fiction novel by Argentinian writer/critic Ricardo Piglia, and directed by Marcelo Pineyro (a former producer whose film career was kickstarted in 1985 by Luis Puenzo's acclaimed drama THE OFFICIAL STORY), BURNT MONEY is an unexpected masterpiece. Photographed with noirish intensity by Alfredo Mayo (HIGH HEELS) and underscored by an ironic soundtrack of lazy jazz and contemporary English/Spanish pop songs, the narrative is driven by powerful emotions (sexual and otherwise), and when the highly strung characters finally react against their unhappy circumstances, the resulting violence is bleak and uncompromising, and the sex scenes are equally graphic.



The sacred and profane are interlinked in various ways (one extraordinary sequence cross-cuts between an act of worship in a Uruguayan church and an unpleasant encounter between Nene and a frightened youth in a public toilet), and the sweaty atmosphere is broken only by an explosive climax where the main protagonists are forced to take responsibility for their actions. Former TV actor Pablo Echarri ("Chiquititas", "El Signo", etc.) plays a younger, headstrong member of the outlaw gang, blinded by youthful arrogance to the danger in which they have all become enmeshed, while Bredice (NINE QUEENS) plays one of the few significant female characters in this otherwise all-male scenario, a brittle creature unable to prevent herself falling in love with the wrong guy, with appalling consequences for everyone.



More than anything else, however, BURNT MONEY is a love story, played to perfection by two of the finest young actors of their generation. Spanish heartthrob Eduardo Noriega forged his career in popular mainstream entries such as THESIS, OPEN YOUR EYES and THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, while Leonardo Sbaragalia made a name for himself in his native Argentina, where he worked with Pineyro on a number of lesser-known productions (TANGO FEROZ: LA LEYENDA DE TANGUITO, CABALLOS SALVAJES). Casting these two beautiful, experienced young men as lovers in a violent true-crime drama could not have been more fortuitous: Their devotions are rarely consummated on-screen (all of the aforementioned sex scenes are heterosexual), except for a chaste kiss at the end of the film, and an earlier, erotically-charged sequence in which Nene tends to a wound on Angel's shoulder and initiates a sexual advance, only to be rebuffed because of Angel's mental condition. And yet, Noriega and Sbaraglia are ultra-convincing as the macho thugs who would literally die for one another, and they invest every gesture, every inflection, with genuine romantic chemistry. These guys simply burn up the screen! Look out for the devastating sequence in which Nene 'confesses' to Bredice about his relationship with Angel, where he describes their mutual affection with heartbreaking emotional candor.



But when all's said and done, these characters are also drug-takers and ruthless killers, and Pineyro refuses to soft-pedal their capacity for evil, which may divide some viewers unable to reconcile such a cruel dichotomy. However, the climactic sequence simply reinforces Pineyro's true objectives: For all its dramatic fireworks and sexual tension, BURNT MONEY is a story of undying love, as touching and beautiful as any this reviewer has ever seen. They may be thieves and murderers, but when Nene looks into Angel's eyes, you know instinctively that their love transcends life and death, and is destined to last an eternity.



Not just a great gay film, BURNT MONEY is also a terrific love story, a heartstopping thriller, and an outstanding example of the recent upsurge in popular Spanish entertainment. Highly recommended!

"

NENE AND ANGEL.......LOVED !

yaaah69 | albuquerque, nm United States | 08/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I caught the review of this film in a local street rag. And I am really glad I did. This is one of the best homosexual theme movies out on film, and the two main guys have done a jam-up job of acting. There is no sex scene's between the two men, but there is a sense of very much love for each other and their kisses are real and not strained. Kudos for these two great actors. The picture has won many awards! Leonardo Sbaraglia, (Nene) , Wild Tango,
Wild Horses, and Eduardo Noreiga (ll) ( Angel) , The Devil's Backbone, Abre Los ojos, Thesis. Are known as 'the twins' , but they are not brothers, they are lover's and they are for hire robbers. The way they look at each other and the way they care for each other is very moving.The story is about a heist that goes wrong in Buenos Aires and policemen are shot and the newspapers know who did the job. The gang has to skip to Uruguay in hopes they can stay there until the heat is off of them. But things do not go their way, and they have to move again....I cannot say enough about the two main characters, they were excellent in their portrayal of The Twins, always together and always looking out for each other.
Also, Pablo Echarre as the driver did an excellent job. But, the tone of the movie is in the court of Nene and Angel. And their love for each other. One of the best male to male flicks to come out since Urbania. To bad Hollywood cannot turn them out!!Burnt Money ,(Plata Quemada) will not be for all... but if you want to see some great acting and a caring no bars held male relationship, then you must run to see it. Out on DVD Oct 1, 2002 . This is the theatrical version not the dvd! I give this a 5/5 ! ciao yaaah69"