Search - Ansiedad on DVD

A Soulful Melodrama

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 05/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pedro Infante is magnificent in this film, in which he plays 3 very different characters. #1, Rafael Lara (father), a down and out singer who can't find work and struggles to take care of his wife and twin sons; #2, Rafael Lara (son), a happy go lucky fellow following in his father's footsteps as singer, and full of life and love, whose only anxiety is knowing that his mother has kept a lifelong secret from him. #3, Carlos Iturbe (Gabriel Lara), who has grown up a millionaire, doesn't suspect Rafael is his brother, and has disdain for those "below him" socially. Fate ties them together again, as the brothers fall in love with the same woman, and the tightly woven web unravels. The saga begins as Rafael finds a baby abandoned in a churchyard on a bitterly cold night, and brings the baby home, not realizing that he could be implicated as accomplice in a kidnapping plot. The complex story unfolds from there, with the theme of class injustice and wealth vs. poverty, and holds our interest with brilliant acting and singing, and an excellent script co-written by director Miguel Zacarias.

Libertad Lamarque gives a luminous performance as Maria de Lara, and from her Argentine roots we hear her renditions of 2 great Carlos Gardel tangos. The film also features several Agustin Lara songs, with a marvelous dance number to his "Farolito." Others in the fine cast include Irma Dorantes as Isabel, and Arturo Soto Rangel as Don Lorenzo. Though there are no landscapes for Gabriel Figueroa's famed cinematography, his atmospheric interiors are beautiful. "Ansiedad" is a special film for Infante and Lamarque fans, and one that can be enjoyed time and time again. No subtitles are available. The songs are an integral part of the plot, and are:
Sung by Lamarque:
1: "Sus Ojos se Cerraron"
2: "Cuesta Abajo"
3: "Estrellita del Sur"
4: "Noche Criolla"
Sung by Infante:
1: "Tu Recuerdo y Yo"
2: "Mujer"
3: "Amor de Mis Amores"
4: "Farolito"
Duets:
1: "Ingrata Perjida"
2: "Marimba"
3: "Ando Muy Boracho""