Usually when the word ‘erotic’ is used to describe a film your mind may jump to the late night flicks typically shown on Cinemax. It is rare that a film can achieve the status of erotic without pandering to the more puerile members of the audience. One film that has managed to succeed in this arena is ‘Valentina's Tango’ by Rogelio Lobato. This film does so but adroitly combining elements of dark comedy, thriller and drama instead of relying only on the erotic elements of the story. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a steamy film but it is not the typical soft core flick that cable subscribers have grown accustom to. This movie uses dance as one of the main venues for the steamier side of the action. With the current popularity of dance competitions on television and the subsequent back stage hooks ups it would appear that the public is ready for a movie like this. This is greatly helped by the fact that the leads were cast with an award wining dancer and a choreographer of considerable ability. The film is plagued with some flaws but the overall focus of the movie does work as entertainment for the more discerning adults.

This film was both directed and written by Rogelio Lobato. He does well with both aspects of the film making process but there is still room for some professional growth. He has two other credits to his name. The first, ‘Depraved’ is listed ass an ‘erotic fantasy’. I sense a bit of a theme here. The story has to do with a young woman who is a dancer. Her specialty is, naturally enough, the tango, one of the more suggestive and provocative forms of dance. She owns a night club where she performs with her beloved husband. Actually, her love is just about to cross the borderline of obsession. Her only respite from this obsessive behavior is her dance. She is also afraid that her predilections will be inherited by their two adult sons. In a throw back to some of the classic gangster flicks of the forties one son is studying to become a priest while the other is moving towards a life of crime. Lobato does well in creating a story with some degree of depth and character development. There is a lot more of a story here than in other films of the genre with actual plot lines. Putting aside some of the more arousing aspects of the movie, the foundation of this film is a woman living in fear of losing self control. The tango is infamous in film for showing the more sensual side of human nature. Older viewers may remember a film from awhile back called ‘The Last Tango in Paris’. This film has more in the way of actually dancing the tango and a lot less of the explicit scenes.

In his role as the director of the film Lobato demonstrates a strong technical grasp of the work. His use of the camera is voyeuristic giving an intimate almost forbidden feel for the audience. Lobato employs several standards tricks of the trade to get the emotional impact of the story across. There are figures silhouetted against a hanging sheet and soft focus with dim lights to sustain the mood. He paces the movie much like the dance. There is a rhythm to it that moves along with a degree of grace and style that builds the momentum of the film pulling the audience along. One thing about the film is the use of an older woman in the lead. Most films like this rely on some nubile young thing overlooks the fact that more mature adults still are governed by passions such as displayed here.

The opening scene is a woman, Valentinas (Yolanda Del Carmen) dancing by herself as she hangs her laundry outside. It is 27 years ago in a small town in South America. A man, Eduardo (Danny Garcia) rushes over to her and grabs her through the sheet. They profess their love for each other. They then join each other in dance. Eduardo pulls the sheet off the line and the close up of the clothespin is the universally understood indication of what follows. Afterwards they lie together as Valentinas admits that she had the big ‘O’ while dancing. She also tells him that her ruby duck in the bath has done the same thing for her; a little too much information at this point. Her grandmother catches them and soon they are married. One their wedding night Valentinas wears Eduardo out. They put on dressing gowns and go out to the patio where Eduardo puts on a brisk tango. Within two years they have a pair of sons, Victor and his younger brother Eduardo Jr. Eduardo Sr. gets a job that requires he go to America, specifically Hollywood. This is a concern for Valentinas but she goes along with it. The time line shifts to 27 years later where Valentinas (Guillermina Quiroga) and Eduardo (Jordi Caballero) own and perform in a night club. Eduardo goes into the dressing room to join his wife and prepare for their performance. He is concerned about Victor (Jack Rubio) who has been hanging out a local gangster, Sonny (Mario Larraza). They are much prouder of their younger son, Eddie (George Perez) who is will soon be attending the seminary and on his way to become a priest. What holds the couple together after all these years is they are still passionately in love with each other. As they dance Eddie and his ex-girlfriend Tina (Dianna Miranda) watch. She remarks how young they still look. Even after all these years Valentinas still gets off during their tango. Tina asks Sonny to tell Victor and Eddie but Victor lies to Eddie and he takes Tina to his parent’s home with Sonny. He sends Sonny away and tries to take advantage of the nearly unconscious Tina. While this is going on Sonny sees Victor’s girlfriend Vicky (Yelba Osorio) loud and upset in front of the club looking for him. After some drunken drama with Vicky Eddie and Victor finally take the still out Tina back to her place. It is obvious that she still has feelings for Eddie and he is trying hard to suppress his feelings for her.

What makes this film work as well as it does it the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The dark comedy elements are threaded throughout the movie preventing it from becoming too intense. There is also the dancing with is simply put incredible to behold. It is good that they cast two professionals in the lead roles. Quiroga has one other role on her resume; as a tango dancer, naturally. Caballero has a longer list of films and television episodes and is much better in the acting department. MTI has a long record of bringing little films like this to a wider audience with their DVD releases. This is entertaining and fun.