10 Questions for Filmmaker Damián Szifron

10 QUESTIONS FOR FILMMAKER DAMIAN SZIFRON  'Wild Tales' director reflects on his portmanteau film about ‘the pleasure of losing control’

'Wild Tales' director reflects on his portmanteau film about ‘the pleasure of losing control’

Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at this year’s Oscars, Wild Tales is that rarity, a portmanteau film; even rarer, it’s a good one. Though unconnected by plot or character, the six darkly comic stories are bonded by themes of revenge and fighting back – against cheating lovers, bad drivers, rank bureaucracy, the crook who ruined your life. It’s about people who cross a line most of us only fantasise about.

Top Gear Patagonia Special, BBC Two

TOP GEAR PATAGONIA SPECIAL, BBC TWO Men in sheds provoke diplomatic incident

Men in sheds provoke diplomatic incident

Despite appearances, Jeremy Clarkson aspires to be taken seriously, as readers of The Sun and The Sunday Times will know. With this Top Gear Special he managed it, being chased from Argentina into Chile by a stone-wielding mob that appeared to have designs on his personal safety, in an incident widely trailed in the news media at the beginning of the month.

LFF 2014: Wild Tales

A ceaselessly inventive black comedy from Argentina breathes new life into the portmanteau film

Argentine cinema is best known for its serious side – finely-honed arthouse fare from the likes of Lucrecia Martel, Pablo Trapero and Lisandro Alonso. But the Argentines can do mainstream very well. And this is a big, bold, glossily-produced, highly entertaining black comedy – a collection of stand-alone stories connected by the theme of revenge, the practice of which is lent one spectacular expression after another.

Evita, Dominion Theatre

EVITA, DOMINION THEATRE Operatic revival lacks satirical bite, but is elevated by a star turn

Operatic revival lacks satirical bite, but is elevated by a star turn

Like their divisive protagonist, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice could reasonably be accused of valuing style over substance: indelible extravaganza Evita subscribes to the cult of celebrity without truly interrogating it, nor are we given enough dramatised information to make a real judgement about a woman equally lauded and vilified.

Wakolda

WAKOLDA The Angel of Death comes to Patagonia in Lucia Puenzo's haunting, unsettling film

Confident Argentinian drama mixes thriller elements with darker themes

Against the background of the spectacular scenery of Patagonia, Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo creates a tight, subtly unnerving thriller in her third film Wakolda. Its American release title “The German Doctor” reveals its subject more immediately, which is the time spent by Nazi physician Josef Mengele (Alex Brendemuhl) in Latin America after his flight from Europe.

CD: Juana Molina - WED 21

A lingering atmosphere from Argentina’s sonic auteur

Anyone familiar with the hermetic sound-world of Argentina’s Juana Molina is not going to be surprised by WED 21, her first album in five years. Despite an added rhythmic pulse, a new use of squelchy and clanking electronics and a more spare approach, she hasn’t arrived in a new territory. More one where some fresh outsiders have been welcomed.

Tango Fire: Flames of Desire, Peacock Theatre

Exquisite dancers, a charismatic chanteur, and an electrifying band

If by the end of a show you’ve both wowed and ouched out loud, I would declare it’s safe to say you’re getting your money's-worth. Tango Fire's new show at the Peacock Theatre, Flames of Desire, does all the above and more. In fact it could be described as the West End equivalent to a supermarket deal the average savvy consumer simply can’t resist – three for the price of one: exquisite dancers, a charismatic chanteur, and an electrifying band.

LFF 2012: Normal School

LFF 2012: NORMAL SCHOOL Observational documentary in an Argentine school gets subtly under the skin

Observational documentary in an Argentine school gets subtly under the skin

Argentine Celina Murga’s two feature films to date, Ana and the Others and A Week Alone, mark her out as one of the most original voices in a country chock full of talent.  Those films are concerned with individuals – respectively, a young woman and a group of children – in search of an identity, in a society that is giving them little direction. Her first documentary, Escuela normal, investigates this question at source.

Alternative National Anthems

As Euro 2012 climaxes and the Olympics draw near, isn't it time to overhaul our out-dated national anthems?

With Euro 2012 about to end and the Olympics looming, we'll be hearing an awful lot of national anthems over the next couple of months. Don't we all agree that the majority of them are inadequate - often being turgid tunes with no reference to the culture of the countries involved?  Isn't it about time we had some alternatives? Here are a few suggestions.

United Kingdom

Anthem: God Save the Queen

Globe to Globe: Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Shakespeare's Globe

Prince Hal and Falstaff given a macho Latin twist from Argentina and Mexico

The two parts of Henry IV parts 1 and 2 are very macho plays. Men drink, tell rude jokes, strut and lie their way into power and influence. In Globe to Globe's Latin American takes on the Bard, some hijo de puta and de puta madre seem fitting additions. In these two productions, machismo, in the style of the gangster or the swagger of the outlaw, was never in short supply.