Burnt Money
Release Date:
October 19, 2001
Limited release
Based on a true story, this Spanish-language film tells the tale of Angel and Sam, known in legend as Los Mellizos, who went on a crime spree in Argentina and Uruguay in 1965. In addition to being flamboyant and somewhat-admired bank robbers, the two are passionate gay lovers. The film follows both their life of crime and their love affair as they build their legend and their love.
The film is billed as an action thriller, and it certainly sounds like something slightly off the beaten path of the art-house film norm. Combining the crime film aspects with the gay love story is also an intriguing departure, and the film's success will mostly depend on how well the two storylines are blended.
At the moment, Burnt Money is scheduled for a limited, platform release, beginning in New York City and gradually reaching a few other major markets throughout October and November. Whether it will receive wider release will likely depend on the reactions of audiences in these initial cities. Word-of-mouth and reviews will be crucial here; if the notices, both from critics and audiences, are good, Burnt Money has the potential to become an art-house hit, and might possibly break out to a wider audience, à la Shakespeare in Love or Waking End Devine. Of course, those were comedies, and in English, which made them an easier sell to a wider audience. But action films are also an easier sell, and the subject matter is sufficiently different and intriguing that it could attract more attention, especially among action-film buffs looking for something a little different in the genre. The subtitles might be a bit of a drawback, but certainly action sequences are less dependent upon dialogue, so that may not be as much of a detriment as might ordinarily be thought.
Time and notices will tell whether Burnt Money catches fire at the box office, or flickers and dies. (Calvin Trager/BOP)
|
|
|
|
Tweet
