''Funny Dirty Little War'' ( es, No habrá más penas ni olvido; original title translatable as "There will be no more sorrow or forgetfulness", a line from '' Mi Buenos Aires Querido'' tango lyrics) is a 1983 Argentine

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Héctor Olivera, written by Olivera and

Roberto Cossa Roberto Cossa (born November 30, 1934) is a prominent Argentinian playwright and theatre director. Life and work Roberto Cossa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the quiet residential borough of Villa del Parque. He first acted i ...

, based on a novel of the same name by

Osvaldo Soriano Osvaldo Soriano (January 6, 1943 – January 29, 1997) was an Argentine journalist and writer.Osvaldo Soriano
at the

. It was produced by

Fernando Ayala Fernando Ayala (2 July 1920 – 11 September 1997) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer of the classic era. He is widely considered one of the most important Argentine film directors and producers in the history of ...

and Luis O. Repetto, and stars

Federico Luppi Federico Luppi (; February 23, 1936 – October 20, 2017) was an Argentine-Spanish film, TV, radio and theatre actor. He won numerous awards throughout his acting career, including a Concha de Plata at the San Sebastian International Film Fest ...

, Miguel Ángel Solá,

Ulises Dumont Ulises Dumont (April 7, 1937 – November 29, 2008) was a prolific Argentine film actor, credited with over 80 appearances in film and countless others in theatre and television from 1964 until his death in 2008. Life and work Born in 1937 in ...

Héctor Bidonde Héctor Pastor Bidonde (born March 3, 1937 in La Plata) is a noted Argentine theatre, film and television actor. He was a shift worker in a tool & dye factory when, in 1954, he was offered a part in Carlos P. Cabral's play ''Amarretes''. He was ...

and

Víctor Laplace Víctor Laplace (born 30 May 1943) is an Argentina, Argentine film actor. Laplace was born in Tandil, Buenos Aires. The son of a watchmaking jeweler and a housewife. When he was 14, he started working as a metallurgist in a factory, there he als ...

Plot

During the early years of the 1970s, Ricardo Guglielmini is the mayor of Colonia Vela, a small country village in an undisclosed province of central Argentina. He plots with Héctor Suprino, a local Peronist

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publ ...

, and Reinaldo, a union leader, to get the town's deputy mayor, Ignacio Fuentes, kicked out of office, due to his increasing popularity, which threatens Guglilemini's decades-long hold on the mayorship. Fuentes is told that he has to fire his assistant Mateo because of his Marxist sympathies. Fuentes, despite disagreeing with Marxist ideals himself, declines, refusing to be politically strong-armed. Taking advantage of this, Guglilemini publicly accuses Fuentes of aiding communist guerillas as an excuse to fire him or get him to resign. When Fuentes refuses, Gugliemini sends the police to arrest him, but Fuentes, rather than cave in to the pressure, takes to arms and then barricades himself in the town hall, along with his allies and friends; Mateo, Corporal García, Juan, Rodrigo, Moyito and Crazy Ceres. Guglielmini orders the police to storm the building, which leads to a massive stand-off between the local police force and Fuentes' men. The counter-Fuentes operation, led by Chief Llanos and Sub-Chief Rossi, initially only attempts to threaten Fuentes into surrendering, but soon evolves into a real shootout when members of the

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance The Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ( es, Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, links=no, usually known as Triple A or AAA) was an Argentine Peronist political action group operated by a sector of the Federal Police and the Argentine Armed Forces, ...

, led by Rogelio Almeido, show up and intervene. During the shootout with the AAA, Moyito is killed and several police officers are wounded, which leads to a temporary ceasefire and a deadlock. Juan sneaks out through the back to look for the local

crop duster A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponi ...

pilot, Cerviño, in order to convince him to help Fuentes by conducting an aerial attack as a distraction so he can sneak more ammo and explosives into the building. As night falls, a group of delusional local leftist guerrilla youths, led by Matilda Gómez, gather in an abandoned warehouse and make a completely unrealistic and blatantly flawed plan to use the conflict as a means to start a civil war in Argentina, take over the government and convert the country into a communist state. They start out by kidnapping Chief Llanos and holding him for a ransom of several tons of explosives and weaponry. Not wanting to give more resources to the communists, Guglielmini abandons Llanos and declares Rossi the new police chief. Rossi leads a new attack on Fuentes, this time using bulldozers as cover to advance on the town hall. Rodrigo and Crazy Ceres are killed during this attack and Fuentes, García and Mateo are barely saved because Cerviño arrives in the nick of time and sprays pesticides all over the police with his plane, causing them to temporarily disperse. The guerrillas attack the local union with a pipe bomb, killing Reinaldo, which prompts the AAA agents to abandon the fight against Fuentes and instead attempt to kill the guerrilla troopers. Famed local Radical former senator Prudencio Gúzman attempts to negotiate with the communists for Llanos' release, but the peace talks fall through and Llanos is ultimately executed. The police regroup and prepare for a third attack. In order to buy some time and distract Rossi, Mateo turns himself in while Fuentes, García and Juan prepare a bomb with the explosives the latter had previously brought in. Regardless of Mateo's surrender, the raid proceeds and, when the police storms the town hall, the bomb goes off, killing several police officers and giving Fuentes, García and Juan enough time to escape through the back. In retaliation, Almeido kills Mateo. Despite managing to escape the town hall, the trio are soon found by the police and Fuentes and García are taken captive. Juan, however, manages to escape. Desperate, he contacts the guerrillas, who promise to help free Fuentes and García if Juan shows them where he keeps his explosives stash. Juan additionally convinces Cerviño to cause one more diversion with his plane. Juan and the guerrillas, this time led by Matilda Gómez herself, carry out an attack on the school. First, Cerviño uses his plane to drop manure on the police, distracting them long enough to allow Juan and Matilda to sneak into the building. Once inside, they bust García free, but due to AAA reinforcements, they're forced to leave Fuentes behind. The AAA and the communists face off in a massive shootout inside the school, which ends with most people on both sides dead. Cerviño and his plane are followed by one of the few surviving AAA members, who shoots him when he lands. While fleeing the shootout at the school, Matilda and the other three surviving guerrillas get blown up by Almeido, who finishes them off in a suicide bombing. Suprino severely beats Fuentes and then Guglielmini tries to talk him into taking the blame for the whole ordeal. When he refuses, Guglielmini and Suprino leave, letting Rossi execute Fuentes. While leaving town, Suprino realizes Guglielmini plans to frame him for inciting the whole incident, so he runs him over with his truck before escaping. When morning finally dawns, García and Juan go to Cerviño's house, where they find him, wounded but still alive. To comfort him in his dying moments, they tell him Fuentes won the battle. Cerviño makes them promise to tell General Perón about him if he ever returns to the country, after which he dies. Once they've buried Cerviño, Juan and García begin to head into the countryside while discussing the many ways they could convince Perón to return. The song "''Mi Buenos Aires Querido''" begins to play as the credits start rolling.

Cast

as Ignacio Fuentes * Miguel Ángel Solá as Juan *

Julio de Grazia Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

as Corporal Garcia *

as Cerviño *

Lautaro Murúa Lautaro Murúa (; 29 December 1926 in Tacna, Chile – 3 December 1995 in Madrid) was a Chilean- Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is one of the best known actors in the cinema of Argentina. Born in Chile, Murúa moved ...

as Mayor Guglielmini *

as Héctor Suprino * Rodolfo Ranni as Police Chief Llanos *

Raul Rizzo Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

as Sub-Chief Rossi * Luis Martínez Rusconi as Rogelio Almeido * Emilio Vidal as Reinaldo *

Victor Laplace The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

as Prudencio Gúzman * Alicia Baistrocchi as Matilda Gómez * José María Lopez as Mateo *

Arturo Maly Arturo Maly (September 6, 1939 – May 25, 2001) was a Silver Condor Award–winning Argentine actor. He made over 50 appearances in film and television in Argentina between 1970 and his death in 2001 making his debut in the TV series Esta n ...

as Toto * Graciela Dufau as Mrs. Fuentes *

Patricio Contreras Patricio Contreras (born December 15, 1947) is a Chilean- Argentine television, film and stage actor. Biography Contreras was born in Santiago, Chile in 1947 and emigrated to neighboring Argentina following the 1973 coup d'état against left ...

as Police Officer Comini * Fernando Iglesias as Moyanito *

María Socas María Antonia Socas Ortiz Lanús (Buenos Aires, August 12, 1959) is an Argentine actress. Although active in various media in her native country, particularly ''telenovelas'' and stage,JP group *

Salo Pasik Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland ** Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostrobot ...

as Journalist *

Rodolfo Brindisi Rodolfo Brindisi (1932-2009) was an Argentine actor who appeared in film and television in Argentina between 1970 and 2003. In 1971 he appeared in the musical ''Balada para un mochilero'' directed by Carlos Rinaldi Carlos Rinaldi (February 5 ...

as "Crazy" Peláez * Héctor Olivera as Rebel (cameo) *

Osvaldo Soriano Osvaldo Soriano (January 6, 1943 – January 29, 1997) was an Argentine journalist and writer.Osvaldo Soriano
at the

as Rebel (cameo)

Background

The film is based on real political event that took place in Argentina in the mid-1970s. The film depicts, ''

sub silentio ''Sub silentio'' is a legal Latin A number of Latin terms are used in legal terminology and legal maxims. This is a partial list of these terms, which are wholly or substantially drawn from Latin. __TOC__ Common law Civil law ...

,'' the struggle between the Montoneros political movement and the right-wing Peronist forces. The Montonero Peronist Movement ( es, Movimiento Peronista Montonero) was an Argentine

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Peronist guerrilla group, active during the 1970s. Its motto was ''venceremos'' ("we will be victorious"). After Juan Perón's return from 20 years of exile and the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing Peronism, the Montoneros were expelled from the Justicialist party in May 1974 by Perón. The group was almost completely dismantled in 1977, during

Jorge Rafael Videla Jorge Rafael Videla (; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and dictator, Commander in Chief of the Army, member of the Military Junta, and ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981. H ...

's dictatorship.

Distribution

''Funny Dirty Little War'' first opened in Argentina on September 22, 1983. It has been featured at various film festivals including the Toronto Festival of Festivals; the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

; the

Cognac Festival du Film Policier The Festival du Film policier de Cognac ( en, Cognac Crime Film Festival) was an annual film festival that took place in Cognac, France from 1982 to 2007 (with no festival being held in 1991).Cognac, France; and the

New Directors/New Films Festival The New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Reception

Critical response

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,'' complimented the acting, pacing, and Héctor Olivera's directorial style, and wrote, "The film has also been so cannily paced - and is so well acted - that there's never much time to consider larger meanings while the mayhem is going on. Though ''Funny Dirty Little War'' ends bleakly, the existence of the film itself - the fact that it could be made at all, and with such style - is ultimately invigorating."Canby, Vincent
''The New York Times,'' film review, March 30, 1985. Last accessed: January 15, 2008.

Accolades

Wins *

: ''Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et Essai Juries'' (C.I.C.A.E.) Award; International Federation of Film Critics ( FIPRESCI) Prize; Silver Berlin Bear, Special Jury Prize; 1984. *

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and World Wide Web, web-based database about Cinema of Argentina, Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, tel ...

''No habrá más penas ni olvido''
film trailer at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{Silver Bear for Jury Grand Prix 1983 films 1980s political comedy-drama films Argentine independent films 1980s black comedy films Films based on Argentine novels Films directed by Héctor Olivera 1980s Spanish-language films Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners 1983 comedy films