Buenos Aires Nights: A bit of a theater muddle

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a thing for old-school melodrama and don't mind feeling a little lost. If you prefer your mysteries to have a clear roadmap, you’ll probably hate how this thing just loops around itself. It’s for the folks who like watching people stare at each other in fancy clothes while the plot waits in the lobby.

The whole thing takes place in a theater, which gives it this weird, cramped energy. You feel like you're trapped in the velvet seats with them. It’s not quite as claustrophobic as Whispering Shadows, but it definitely shares that same sense of being stuck in a single room with people who have secrets.

The vibe is... a lot.

There are so many characters walking in and out of the frame that I stopped trying to keep track of their names after about twenty minutes. Tita Merello is doing her best to hold the screen together, but the script keeps throwing romantic subplots at her like she’s a dartboard. It’s exhausting.

Then someone gets murdered, and the pacing just... stops. Like, it grinds to a halt. There’s this one shot of a staircase that lasts for an eternity. I’m pretty sure I saw a dust mote floating in the light for a solid ten seconds. Why? Nobody knows.

• The lighting is either pitch black or blindingly bright. No middle ground.
• The dialogue sounds like everyone is practicing their lines for a different play.
• I’m still not 100% sure who actually committed the crime, but maybe I blinked.

It reminded me a little bit of the chaotic energy in The Social Pirates, where you just have to accept that logic has left the building. But here, the seriousness is dialled up to eleven. They really want you to believe that this murder is the most tragic thing to ever happen in a theater.

There’s a moment near the end where the camera pans over the audience, and you can see a guy in the back looking completely bored. I felt seen. Truly seen. It’s that kind of movie—the kind where you start noticing the extras more than the leads because they look like they’re waiting for a bus.

Anyway, it’s not a disaster. It’s just... a lot of noise. If you want something that feels like a fever dream you had after eating too much cheese before bed, give it a whirl. Otherwise, maybe skip it. 🎭