LFF: Tango Libre

JC (François Damiens) is a solitary prison guard who finds escape taking tango classes. He soon falls for alluring dance partner Alice (Anne Paulicevich), and things seem set for a generic mid-life romance – until JC discovers that Alice is the wife of convicted robber Fernand (Sergi Lopez), a prisoner in his charge. To JC’s confusion, she’s also close to another prisoner, and neither is happy about Alice’s extramural activities. The jealous Fernand responds by taking tango lessons from the toughest Argentinians behind bars, turning Tango Libre into an offbeat slammer pic such as you’ve never seen. Director Fonteyne (1999’s A Pornographic Affair) has crafted an intense, intelligent and affecting character piece that never quite goes where you expect. The always watchable Lopez is on top form, but the film’s real revelation is star and co-writer Paulicevich, whose Alice is tough, tender, and sometimes mesmerisingly unknowable. (Jonathan Romney)