''The Signal'' ( es, La señal) is a 2007 Argentine film written by
Eduardo Mignogna
Eduardo Mignogna (August 17, 1940 – October 6, 2006) was an Argentinian film director and screenwriter.
Filmography
* 1975 - ''La Raulito en libertad'' (writer)
* 1983 - ''El Desquite'' (writer)
* 1983 - ''Evita, quien quiera oír que oiga'' ...
. Mignogna was going to direct the film as well. However, due to his death one year before the start of production, his friend and frequent collaborator,
Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Alberto Darín (born 16 January 1957) is an Argentine actor, film director and film producer, he is considered one of the best and most prolific actors of Argentine cinema.
Considered one of the greatest and most acclaimed movie stars ...
, took up the task. He was aided by Martín Hodara, who had his directorial debut. Darín also starred in the lead role, along with
Diego Peretti
Diego Peretti (born 10 February 1963) is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and former psychiatrist.
Peretti was born in Buenos Aires, and practiced as a psychiatrist for fourteen years. He took part in several movies and TV series, including ...
,
Julieta Díaz
Julieta Solange Díaz Núñez (born September 9, 1977) is an Argentine model and actress.Julieta Díaz at the
Andrea Pietra.
The film is dedicated to Eduardo Mignogna.
Synopsis
The film starts ''
in medias res
A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...
'', with Corvalán hiding in a safehouse and preparing himself for a gunfight. The film then takes a step back to the start, in the form of a flashback.
The year is 1952:
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...
has retired from public life due to poor health, and her final days are being broadcast on the radio. Corvalán, alias "El Pibe" (''The Kid'',
Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Alberto Darín (born 16 January 1957) is an Argentine actor, film director and film producer, he is considered one of the best and most prolific actors of Argentine cinema.
Considered one of the greatest and most acclaimed movie stars ...
) and Santana (
Diego Peretti
Diego Peretti (born 10 February 1963) is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and former psychiatrist.
Peretti was born in Buenos Aires, and practiced as a psychiatrist for fourteen years. He took part in several movies and TV series, including ...
) are two amateur private detectives living off oddjobs and gambling. Corvalán is also in a decaying relationship with Perla ( Andrea Pietra). After one unlucky day at the tracks, Corvalán meets a mysterious woman, Gloria (
Julieta Díaz
Julieta Solange Díaz Núñez (born September 9, 1977) is an Argentine model and actress.Julieta Díaz at the
mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
boss, "El Noruego" (''The Norwegian''), who is being stalked by Dino Capuano, the last surviving member of a family he massacred years ago in
. Because El Noruego suspects a snitch, and Gloria fears for her safety, she confesses to Corvalán that she hired him to give her, and indirectly her husband, proof that the snitch is Pertureta.
Santana wants no business with the feud between El Noruego and Dino Capuano, but Corvalán, moved by Gloria's story, decides to help her, and together they go into hiding at a safehouse. It is here that the movie catches up with the start, and Corvalán engages in a gunfight with El Noruego's henchmen. He and Gloria escape after killing one of them, and as Corvalán runs out of bullets, Santana arrives and rescues them.
Upon getting word that El Noruego and his gang have been gunned down by Capuano's men, Gloria manages to convince Corvalán to disappear with her. To do so, Corvalán must first return to El Noruego's place and open the safe that holds savings worth a lifetime. In the movie's climax, Corvalán manages to open the safe and reads the "Remington" seal in the safe-box and remembers that days ago his father told him he had a safe-box with a five-digit combination.Corvalán is suddenly interrupted by Gloria's chauffeur, who points a gun at him and demands the money. Just as he is about to kill him, he is shot in the back by Gloria as he, in turn, shoots Corvalán. Gloria leaves Corvalán to die, and walks away with the money.
In the last scene, Santana painfully identifies Corvalán's body at the morgue. He mutters "So long, my friend" (in English) and leaves. In the radio, a speaker announces the death of Eva Perón and the national mourning.