During a summit bringing together all the Latin American heads of state in an isolated hotel in the Andes Mountains, Hernán Blanco, the Argentine president, is caught up in a corruption case involving his daughter. As he struggles to escape the scandal that threatens his career and family, he must also fight to secure a crucial deal for his country.
After “El Estudiante” and “Paulina,” director Santiago Mitre continues his political and social exploration of contemporary Argentina—and its deep contradictions—with the portrait of a “normal” president who has just come to power. However, Hernán Blanco also has some skeletons in his closet.
A “ghost” haunts this Latin “Hamlet,” the beloved daughter who rewrites the family history during a hypnosis session. The boundaries between the past and political fiction then waver, and the narrative with them, creating an almost fantastical atmosphere that allows “El Presidente” to go beyond its simple synopsis.
While the story told in “El Presidente” is not based on real events, the truth of what is said cannot be doubted, from the little dealings among friends to various compromises, not to mention that “damned” past ready to resurface at the most inopportune moment.
Santiago Mitre is the author of “El Estudiante,” a tale of a rebellious youth (2011), and “Paulina,” presented at the 2015 Critics’ Week. This current film is more deliberately political and sarcastic, presented as a small massacre game.
Casting the impeccable Ricardo Darin as the president is no innocent choice in itself: the actor brings a performance that is both detached and exuberant, offering a particularly ambiguous and unsettling image of the politician.
Santiago Mitre does not overemphasize and offers a small theater of cruelty that invites suspicion of appearances and deceptions. The film then transcends its political context to highlight the hypocrisy of social relations: as Renoir would say, “everyone has their reasons,” but it becomes clear that cunning and manipulative power enable the most powerful to stand out.
Despite some drops in pace and narrative confusions, “El Presidente” is intriguing to watch and confirms the inspiration of its director.
