"La Cordillera" (aka The Summit) is a decent well done flick. But once again (this happening a bit too much lately with local films) I leave the cinema with the uncomfortable feeling that much more could have been done and that if all that was necessary had been done, this title would raise vertically to masterpiece category. All in all, La Cordillera has several aims. One of them is representing politicians for what they actually are: a piece of s**t, and this aim is completely achieved. But short of that, it delves further into a parallel captivating paranormal story, that unfortunately is left without a proper resolution. I can understand the purpose of the director and the writers behind this missing piece; however the same effect could have been reached with the proper work. Oddly enough, and this is something indeed rare, this film which is 1 hour and 54 minutes long, falls short of length: in my personal opinion, this should have been a 3 hour film. I want to highlight the work of one of the two writers, Mariano Llinás, because his style (which I like a lot) is undoubtedly present here. There are two very good films he directed, "Balnearios" and "Historias Extraordinarias" I never forget about, although the latter declines somewhat in the second half. Only good scripts can be expected by this writer, and in the end and with the necessary polishing, extraordinary films are due. La Cordillera will have your attention all the two hours long.
17 Reviews
A film that is not sure what it wants to be?
euroGary7 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
At the conclusion of 'The Summit' the viewer may ask himself "What was the point of that?"
Newly-elected Argentine President Hernán Blanco is in a Chilean mountain resort attending a meeting of South American Heads of State to discuss forming an exclusively-South American version of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Hernán commands little respect back home (indeed, if she watches this Theresa May will find distinct parallels) and to make matters worse he is just about to become embroiled in a corruption scandal orchestrated by his embittered son-in-law. His media-sensitive advisers' decision to remove his daughter from the reach of journalists by hauling her to the summit backfires when her mental problems resurface. As well as dealing with her and the conflicting priorities of the strutting President of Brazil and his remarkably foul-mouthed Mexican counterpart, Hernán also becomes an object of interest to the Americans, keen to muscle in on the new organisation. What's a President to do?
Oil may be important, but it makes for dreadfully dull discussion at a summit, even with the heavy layer of almost comical anti-Americanism evident here. The sequences involving Hernán's daughter are more interesting, although contribute to the confusion this viewer felt as to the intended purpose of the film: is it a political pot-boiler, or a family melodrama? (Alberto Iglesias' musical score does not help matters: it gets so dramatic and foreboding that at times I was half-expecting an alien to burst out of Hernán's stomach.) Dividing the film between the two strands means neither of them gets enough attention.
As played by Ricardo Darín, Hernán comes across as a nice bloke (although if I correctly understood the meaning of his final summit vote that is open to question). He is, at least, a well-rounded character. Almost all the others are merely one-dimensional stereotypes: the cynical and coolly-efficient political advisers, the arrogant politicians, etc. Even Hernán's daughter is presented as little more than a problem - although the viewer can understand her frustration as her personal life becomes subservient to her father's political ambitions - something risked by the children of any politician.
Ultimately, what I will remember most about this film is the snow-covered mountain scenery of what was, according to IMDb, Argentina, not Chile. Spectacular.
Newly-elected Argentine President Hernán Blanco is in a Chilean mountain resort attending a meeting of South American Heads of State to discuss forming an exclusively-South American version of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Hernán commands little respect back home (indeed, if she watches this Theresa May will find distinct parallels) and to make matters worse he is just about to become embroiled in a corruption scandal orchestrated by his embittered son-in-law. His media-sensitive advisers' decision to remove his daughter from the reach of journalists by hauling her to the summit backfires when her mental problems resurface. As well as dealing with her and the conflicting priorities of the strutting President of Brazil and his remarkably foul-mouthed Mexican counterpart, Hernán also becomes an object of interest to the Americans, keen to muscle in on the new organisation. What's a President to do?
Oil may be important, but it makes for dreadfully dull discussion at a summit, even with the heavy layer of almost comical anti-Americanism evident here. The sequences involving Hernán's daughter are more interesting, although contribute to the confusion this viewer felt as to the intended purpose of the film: is it a political pot-boiler, or a family melodrama? (Alberto Iglesias' musical score does not help matters: it gets so dramatic and foreboding that at times I was half-expecting an alien to burst out of Hernán's stomach.) Dividing the film between the two strands means neither of them gets enough attention.
As played by Ricardo Darín, Hernán comes across as a nice bloke (although if I correctly understood the meaning of his final summit vote that is open to question). He is, at least, a well-rounded character. Almost all the others are merely one-dimensional stereotypes: the cynical and coolly-efficient political advisers, the arrogant politicians, etc. Even Hernán's daughter is presented as little more than a problem - although the viewer can understand her frustration as her personal life becomes subservient to her father's political ambitions - something risked by the children of any politician.
Ultimately, what I will remember most about this film is the snow-covered mountain scenery of what was, according to IMDb, Argentina, not Chile. Spectacular.
A glorious accomplishment
damgutman25 August 2017
Every year at least during the last decade, Argentinian cinema comes up with a single film that is superlative in many ways. Just back to 2014 we had Relatos Salvajes (Wild tales, Foreign film Academy Award nominee), The Clan (2015, this one to a lesser extent), El ciudadano ilustre (The distinguished citizen, 2016), and this year La cordillera, by Santiago Mitre. Mitre, still really young, is on his path to claim his spot beside the greatest contemporary Argentinian filmmakers such as Juan Jose Campanella and Damian Szifron.
This was Mitre's first super-production and he succeeded in coming up with something absolutely ambitious. The fact of the film's scale, it's remarkable cast (best national actors by far- Ricardo Darin, Erica Rivas, Gerardo Romano- and great foreign ones- Christian Slater, Elena Anaya) made it highly expected by the big commercial audience, but Mitre has surprised everyone with something so big in it's universal themes (power, greed, corruption) but yet subtle, full of metaphors
and without a closure to the story, which is what the average cinema goer expects. Hence the mixed reviews, popular reaction and the widely spread notion that the film stays half way or that's slow and boring. It can be a really uncomfortable film for some people, it makes one think and in general people go to the cinema just for entertainment.
The pace of the film it's perfect. Neither too slow nor to fast, it allows one to keep thinking about what's there or what's not. I guess it's more enjoyable if someone has interest and knowledge in politics but as I said above what really matters is the universality of the themes that are dealt with throughout the movie.
The only weakness I can find is the inclusion of President Blanco's daughter played by Dolores Fonzi. Even though then I realised this was merely with the purpose of exploring more in depth Blanco's personality and morality, I hardly find Dolores Fonzi credible (I can only recall 2013 "El critico" as an exception). In the long run and after figuring out the reason of her inclusion it didn't really matter. Everyone who's more thoughtful than the average can have a different interpretation of the events or possible outcomes.
It blew my mind.
This was Mitre's first super-production and he succeeded in coming up with something absolutely ambitious. The fact of the film's scale, it's remarkable cast (best national actors by far- Ricardo Darin, Erica Rivas, Gerardo Romano- and great foreign ones- Christian Slater, Elena Anaya) made it highly expected by the big commercial audience, but Mitre has surprised everyone with something so big in it's universal themes (power, greed, corruption) but yet subtle, full of metaphors
and without a closure to the story, which is what the average cinema goer expects. Hence the mixed reviews, popular reaction and the widely spread notion that the film stays half way or that's slow and boring. It can be a really uncomfortable film for some people, it makes one think and in general people go to the cinema just for entertainment.
The pace of the film it's perfect. Neither too slow nor to fast, it allows one to keep thinking about what's there or what's not. I guess it's more enjoyable if someone has interest and knowledge in politics but as I said above what really matters is the universality of the themes that are dealt with throughout the movie.
The only weakness I can find is the inclusion of President Blanco's daughter played by Dolores Fonzi. Even though then I realised this was merely with the purpose of exploring more in depth Blanco's personality and morality, I hardly find Dolores Fonzi credible (I can only recall 2013 "El critico" as an exception). In the long run and after figuring out the reason of her inclusion it didn't really matter. Everyone who's more thoughtful than the average can have a different interpretation of the events or possible outcomes.
It blew my mind.
Ok, so here's what happened
smoke023 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This is a story about how low politicians will go to achieve success. It's brought out time and time again within the political intrigues in the film, which were very predictable and therefore boring as far as political "thrillers" go.
What is left completely unexplained for no good reason is, however, easy enough to figure out, again within the context of corrupt politicians - Marina as a small child saw her father's crime, was locked away and subjected to years of therapy to force her to forget what she saw and make her crazy in the process, and her birth certificate was changed to make her younger so she wasn't even present during the time of the murder - unless you want to go with some supernatural event, which just makes no sense within the central theme.
Why Marina's story wasn't shown or explained as explicitly as the events in the rest of the film is beyond me, but that's for the producers to explain, unless that's some supernatural event also..
What is left completely unexplained for no good reason is, however, easy enough to figure out, again within the context of corrupt politicians - Marina as a small child saw her father's crime, was locked away and subjected to years of therapy to force her to forget what she saw and make her crazy in the process, and her birth certificate was changed to make her younger so she wasn't even present during the time of the murder - unless you want to go with some supernatural event, which just makes no sense within the central theme.
Why Marina's story wasn't shown or explained as explicitly as the events in the rest of the film is beyond me, but that's for the producers to explain, unless that's some supernatural event also..
Was expecting something else to develop, but wasn't a bad movie.
foxtografo4 June 2019
This was one of those movies I have to read a lot after watching to try and figure out what happened.
Some times, you miss little things while watching and one and the other and another person see little details and between all of them you form your opinion about what you've just seen.
The "open ending" was quite confusing for me, but after reading different opinions and points of view I realised the movie is about the main character, Hernán Blanco, and nothing else. Everything points to show how and what he is. Everything that happens is about him, and after the movie ends, you will know what he is.
The thing is, it looked like there was something bigger going on, and I lost focus on the character, thinking that some twist was going to happen any time.
I do appreciate how good is the cinematography, the acting and the music on this movie, everyone does a great job on their roles, and there's a very well accomplished atmosphere of mystery from beginning to end, but it was a bit messy and inconsistent in what it was pointing at, and made me expect something else. Or maybe not messy, but a lot of little details that will make sense and add up better when you finished the movie and understood what was about. Maybe a second watch would be good.
Still, besides it was somehow disappointing, is a quality film in many aspects and I did enjoy watching it.
A good film, great actors, interesting dialogues, very good director, excellent music
kaimenkf-9044522 August 2017
I really liked La Cordillera (The summit). Political thriller is not the most usual subject in Argentina's filming. Just for this, this deserves a lot of recognition. The script is intense, very touching. Maybe some viewers will feel as if there were some minutes missing...but whenever you think about the film, this grows. I enjoyed the director so much...the "Cordillera de los Andes" that gives the film a name...is a silent Main protagonist. Beautiful, fascinating, incredible. In the middle of nowhere, some crucial meeting among south American presidents is being held. Darin is superb as usual, as the Argentina's President. for the reluctant, I suggest you to give The Summit a chance.
Interesting attempt of political thriller stays on a half way
rollingguinea3 June 2017
Wow my very first title review and the first review too! The film is the third work by Argentinian director Santiago Miter. The political thriller talks about a meeting of South American government leaders in a hotel in Andes (cordillera). The presidents meet in a secured place to conclude a new alliance of oil-producing countries.
As the main figure will be the Argentinean President Hernán Blanco presented. His name (in Spanish white) indicates his purity, which he also used in the election campaign. Right from the beginning, this purity is shattered as he learns that his soon-to-be ex-son-in-law intends to make information public about machinations in financing his election campaign. The daughter has been in a psychiatric treatment since some time. In the light of her husband's last plans, caring father lets his daughter to be brought to the summit hotel. The unhealed traces gain the upper hand over her there, and she gets entangled. The father lets a renowned psychiatrist brought into the hotel to help her quickly. The doctor proposes to treat the daughter by hypnosis. However, he will not be allowed to treat the patient alone. So learns the president from the room next door, as the daughter tells a disastrous story in the hypnosis. The surprised president informs the doctor that the story happened before daughter's birth. Another shadow clouds over the president and the ominous history from the past urges the president to let the further treatment be abrupted. So the psychiatrist may not even say good bye to his patient.
The president is being succumbed to political action and has to cope with it in his favor and in favor of his country while dealing parallel with personal issues from the past and the present. At this point the movie slows with the tension and deals bit too much with father-daughter relationship.
So to avoid spoilers have a look yourself. It is not as breathtaking movie as views of Andes there, but still worth to see.
As the main figure will be the Argentinean President Hernán Blanco presented. His name (in Spanish white) indicates his purity, which he also used in the election campaign. Right from the beginning, this purity is shattered as he learns that his soon-to-be ex-son-in-law intends to make information public about machinations in financing his election campaign. The daughter has been in a psychiatric treatment since some time. In the light of her husband's last plans, caring father lets his daughter to be brought to the summit hotel. The unhealed traces gain the upper hand over her there, and she gets entangled. The father lets a renowned psychiatrist brought into the hotel to help her quickly. The doctor proposes to treat the daughter by hypnosis. However, he will not be allowed to treat the patient alone. So learns the president from the room next door, as the daughter tells a disastrous story in the hypnosis. The surprised president informs the doctor that the story happened before daughter's birth. Another shadow clouds over the president and the ominous history from the past urges the president to let the further treatment be abrupted. So the psychiatrist may not even say good bye to his patient.
The president is being succumbed to political action and has to cope with it in his favor and in favor of his country while dealing parallel with personal issues from the past and the present. At this point the movie slows with the tension and deals bit too much with father-daughter relationship.
So to avoid spoilers have a look yourself. It is not as breathtaking movie as views of Andes there, but still worth to see.
A Meeting of Minds
Minnesota_Reid29 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This is an interesting political suspenser about an anti-American summit of Latin American countries, focusing on the Argentine president. Its major fault is trying to squeeze in the story of the Argentine president's daughter. While she does shed light on his character, it absorbed too much of the screen time. This subplot should have been dealt with quickly, as the movie dealt with the subplot of the Spanish journalist (played by Elena Anaya). And a little less of the daughter would have left a little more time for the politics which, especially at the end of the movie, could have benefitted from a little more time and clarity.
Dissapointment
gripeosd3 October 2019
Although the movie had some individual not bad elements such as acting, music/atmosphere, photography, the total turned to be really boring and without a central meaning/direction, having mixed a very weak political case with a stronger -but again weak- psychological issue of the president's daughter. You were always waiting for something excited, which never came. Either the script was very poor or the director made it so. Perhaps they should have worked with the film a few weeks more...
Interesting plot...
Thanos_Alfie9 July 2021
"The Summit" is a Mystery - Drama movie in which we watch the president of Argentina attending a summit for Latin American presidents in Chile where the main topic is petroleum, alliances and strategies. The president of Argentina will have to face his past as his political and family drama come together.
I enjoyed this movie but I have to admit that I expected more since I am a fan of Ricardo Darín's movies. I expected more suspense in the end and to show us a little bit more of the future of the character. The direction which was made by Santiago Mitre was good and he presented very well his main characters along with the plot and the history behind their stories. The interpretation of Ricardo Darín who played as Hernán Blanco was very good for one more time. Some other interpretations that have to be mentioned were Dolores Fonzi's who played as Marina Blanco and Erica Rivas' who played as Luisa Cordero. To sum up, I have to say that "The Summit" is an interesting movie that had the potential to be great but it was not and it's just a nice movie to spend your time with.
I enjoyed this movie but I have to admit that I expected more since I am a fan of Ricardo Darín's movies. I expected more suspense in the end and to show us a little bit more of the future of the character. The direction which was made by Santiago Mitre was good and he presented very well his main characters along with the plot and the history behind their stories. The interpretation of Ricardo Darín who played as Hernán Blanco was very good for one more time. Some other interpretations that have to be mentioned were Dolores Fonzi's who played as Marina Blanco and Erica Rivas' who played as Luisa Cordero. To sum up, I have to say that "The Summit" is an interesting movie that had the potential to be great but it was not and it's just a nice movie to spend your time with.
Major disappointment from Ricardo Darin
tony-70-6679205 October 2017
I'm a big fan of Ricardo Darin. Now 60, he's been in films and TV since he was 3, and starting in 2000 he's become known worldwide. I've seen 10 of his films, all excellent, so I was keen to see him as the Argentine president in this one. Big mistake. It featured on the first day of the London Film Festival in the "Thrills" section: presumably a joke on the part of the programmer. I should have done my homework. The director has written 3 fine films for Pablo Trapero, but his own "The Student" was a bore. There's so much wrong with this one. It starts with a workman going to the presidential palace, and there's talk of a funding scandal, but neither strand goes anywhere. Too much time is spent on the president's unstable daughter, a tiresome distraction from the oil conference (in which Venezuela, with the world's largest oil reserves barely features.) She seems to be there because the actress is the director's partner. This is the ultimate "so what, who cares?" film. I would have walked out, but was in the middle of a 28-seat row, and didn't want to disturb so many others, so sought refuge in sleep. Maybe I missed something thrilling. Great location in the Andes, though.
Political and Personal Challenges Merge for Argentine Leader
Blue-Grotto14 April 2018
Potent political and personal challenges merge for Hernan Blanco, newly elected President of Argentina, at a regional summit in Chile. A self-proclaimed representative of the people, Hernan deals with shadowy figures, pursues secret agendas with other Latin American leaders and leads a double life that surprises even his daughter Marina. The growing distance between Marina and her father resembles the divide between leader and country, and between Hernan and the image of himself.
In one of my favorite Hawthorne stories, the Birthmark, a man with good intentions convinces his wife to drink a tonic that he claims will improve her appearance as well as their relationship. She drinks it only because she loves him. The potion works, but it removes her real essence and proves, alas, he did not love her in return. "Were I weaker and blinder" she says, "it might be happiness." So too with Hernan, Marina and the people of Argentina. Hernan is pushing potions and illusions for others to swallow. Many people try to cast such spells, not just politicians like Hernan, and this film sheds some light on the practice of deception. The theme is intriguing.
As a traveler to Brazil and possessor of political science and law degrees, I thought I could easily understand and appreciate the political trash talk and allusions but forward by the Latin American leaders. I was wrong. It is more difficult than I imagined. The matter is further complicated because I do not know Spanish and had to follow the captions at the bottom of the screen. Ricardo Darin (Hernan) does a wonderful job portraying the dignity, posture, arrogance and measured, calculating voice of a world leader. The mountain views of Chile are fantastic but limited. The film did not go into as much depth as I prefer, but overall it is a plausible, compelling glimpse into what goes on at the top levels of power. Seen at the Miami Film Festival.
A Good Film that Could Have Been Better - The Summit
arthur_tafero16 May 2019
There are some films that are classics because they do not have any women in them; such as Full Metal Jacket, 12 Angry Men, A Few Good Men, The Alamo, Saving Private Ryan (except the great mother scene), and others. Conversely, there are several classics that feature women, where men are merely props; such as Two Women, Sophies Choice, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Devil Wears Prada, Queen Elizabeth, and several others. I believe this is one of those films that should have jettisoned the daughter and the female assistant; neither of which push the story forward with intensity. The dynamics among the men are what makes this film tick (like Glengary Glenross). The director fumbled the ball on the goal line with this one. Also unclear was why the US wanted Argentina to keep them out of the game. If those two things were made crystal clear in two hours, this would have been a classic; but......
Boring, no sense, inocuous
bajopalabra10 February 2018
Nice shots and landscapes. But nothing happens. An extremely SLOW, BORING movie. Naïve presidents scripts and gestures... etc. I was encouraged to see the it by the comments of Kutchevasky (producer). It looked interesting to me that time. But there is not thrill neither suspense, no plot. It's less accomplished than a joke.
What's this? What's going on?
MovieIQTest23 January 2018
I really don't know what is the real purpose to make this movie. Why we have to involve so many Latin American nations and send all of their presidents to Chile, in the harsh winter and hold a so-called meeting in a resort like hotel on top of the mountain? And what's the purpose this Argentina president insists his daughter to join him there. The screenplay did not clearly develop the conspiratorial scandal this president is facing, only vaguely shows us in some dubious dialog that the husband of his daughter's husband will expose some dirty laundry this president is trying to hide from the people. Having a daughter who is in an unstable mental condition and disrupts his important meeting is such stubborn decision and stupid arrangement that maybe Donald Trump would do.
I really don't know how to categorize this going-nowhere almost clueless film. What is the real purpose of making this film? A political thriller? I don't think so. An unsolved murder mystery? A hallucination of a president's daughter? What is the real purpose this movie like us to view?
Christian Slater played an obnoxious American political peddler in this film with some over-the-top exaggeration with lot of unfit gestures and body language just wanted to give us an impression of how arrogant American policy maker is even during a back room negotiation. This film also wanted to let us know the Mexican president is the mouthpiece of the American government. But regretfully, when you forced yourself to sit through watching this film, expecting something might fully be explained in the end with your patience almost vaporized, what you got in the end is just a big NADA.
You don't need to go through this like me to get nothing out of it. A complete waste of your time.
I really don't know how to categorize this going-nowhere almost clueless film. What is the real purpose of making this film? A political thriller? I don't think so. An unsolved murder mystery? A hallucination of a president's daughter? What is the real purpose this movie like us to view?
Christian Slater played an obnoxious American political peddler in this film with some over-the-top exaggeration with lot of unfit gestures and body language just wanted to give us an impression of how arrogant American policy maker is even during a back room negotiation. This film also wanted to let us know the Mexican president is the mouthpiece of the American government. But regretfully, when you forced yourself to sit through watching this film, expecting something might fully be explained in the end with your patience almost vaporized, what you got in the end is just a big NADA.
You don't need to go through this like me to get nothing out of it. A complete waste of your time.
Filmmakers Who Forget to Be Entertaining
leftbanker-130 January 2018
This movie was about as much fun as watching the news on a slow news day. They threw in a non sequitur of a family problem just because they obviously had no idea how to make a film out of what they had and that's what you get with La Cordillera. On top of all of the boredom they made it run almost two hours! Why? They had almost nothing to say and then they say it for almost two hours?
Ricardo Darín can't rescue this mess. Even the trailer is boring which is almost always a sign that the film is bad.
Ricardo Darín can't rescue this mess. Even the trailer is boring which is almost always a sign that the film is bad.
watch this if u want to sleep
Cinema2kMendoza21 April 2022
This is one of the most boring movies ever made, i never made reviews of bad movies, but this one was soooo slow, and sooo boring that never feel too drama or too political. Tried to be twin peaks with politics, but is boring.only works if u want to sleep faster than ever.
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