Director: Andreas Fontana
100 mins, Switzerland-France-Argentina, 2021, Digital, Subtitled.
From Monday September 6th, in line with government guidelines, all patrons must show proof of vaccination upon entering the cinema screen.
Argentina, the late 1970s. Private banker Yvan (Fabrizio Rongione) has arrived from Geneva to replace a colleague who has mysteriously disappeared and to placate their moneyed clientele in Buenos Aires. Moving through the smoke-filled lounges and lush gardens of a society under intense surveillance, he finds himself untangling a sinister web of colonialism, high finance, and a nation’s ‘Dirty War’. A remarkably assured debut from Andreas Fontana, Azor invites us into the alluring world of the ultra-wealthy; with the country in the clutches of a military dictatorship, violence is always simmering just below the surface. Atmospheric and slyly seductive, this sophisticated political thriller teems with exquisite scenery and ominous conversation. A highlight from this year’s Berlin Film Festival, Azor evocatively depicts the uneasy interplay between wealth and power.
Notes by David O Mahony