''Three Sad Tigers'' ( es, Tres tristes tigres) is a 1968 Chilean drama film directed by Raúl Ruiz. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name by

Alejandro Sieveking Alejandro Sieveking Campano (5 September 1934 – 5 March 2020) was a Chilean playwright, theatre director and actor. Career Sieveking was born in the Chilean city of Rengo (in the O'Higgins Region) on 5 September 1934. He performed as an actor ...

, which itself was based on the novel ''

Tres tristes tigres Tres tristes tigres may refer to: * Three Sad Tigers, a 1968 Chilean drama film, based on the play * Tres tristes tigres (play), a play by Alejandro Sieveking, based on the novel * Tres tristes tigres (novel) ''Tres tristes tigres'' ( es, Tres ...

'' by Cuban writer

Guillermo Cabrera Infante Guillermo Cabrera Infante (; Gibara, 22 April 1929 – 21 February 2005) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, translator, screenwriter, and critic; in the 1950s he used the pseudonym G. Caín, and used Guillermo Cain for the screenplay of th ...

. It shared the

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to be ...

award at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

in 1969.

Plot

The film follows several lower-middle-class,

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust anyo ...

characters in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile. Tito has moved to Santiago in search of a better life and works as a car salesman. However, he is unhappy due to the constant pressure and scrutiny he faces from his boss, Rudy. One weekend, when Tito is supposed to hand over the paperwork to close a car deal, he meets up with his sister Amanda and a stranger named Lucho. During a drunken dinner, they engage in a conversation about

utopianism A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

and encounter several interesting characters. However, their discussion almost leads to a fight with a group of young men from a neighboring table who are singing patriotic songs. After losing the paperwork, Tito takes Amanda, who is working as a stripper and prostitute, to Rudy, intending to offer her to him in exchange for keeping his job. However, Rudy is angered when he learns of Tito's plan and the lost documents. When Rudy orders Tito to pick up his sister, Tito loses control of his anger and brutally assaults Rudy. The siblings then transport Rudy by taxi and leave him lying in the street. The next morning, Tito broods alone in a café while listening to a

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

sung by Ramón Aguilera, before walking out listlessly into a busy city street.

Cast

Shenda Román Shenda Román (born 4 August 1928) is a Chilean actress best known for playing leading roles opposite Nelson Villagra in the "New Chilean Cinema" (1968-1973) of directors Raúl Ruiz and Miguel Littín. Selected filmography * ''Three Sad Tige ...

as Amanda *

Nelson Villagra Nelson Villagra (born 9 August 1937) is a Chilean actor, writer and director of stage and screen. He is recognised as one of the most masterful actors in Chilean cinema and is widely known in Chile for his exceptional portrayal of a mentally ...

as Tito *

Luis Alarcón Luis Alfonso Alarcón Mansilla (born 23 October 1929), popularly known as Lucho Alarcón, is a Chilean actor, theater director, and activist with a distinguished film, television, and stage career. In 1957, Alarcón began working as a stage actor ...

as Lucho *

Jaime Vadell Jaime Patricio Vadell Amión (born 6 October 1935) is a Chilean film, theatre and television actor. He is one of the most recognisable faces in Chilean telenovelas and cinema, having played key roles in films directed by Raúl Ruiz, Silvio Caio ...

as Rudy *

Delfina Guzmán Delfina Guzmán Correa (born 7 April 1928) is a Chilean actress. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1968. She starred in the 1968 Raúl Ruiz film '' Three Sad Tigers''. She is the daughter of Florencio Guzmán La ...

as Alicia *Fernando Colina as Carlos Sanhueza *Belén Allasio as Chonchi *Alonso Venegas as The School Inspector

References

External links

* 1968 films 1968 drama films Chilean drama films Chilean black-and-white films Chilean films based on plays 1960s Spanish-language films Films directed by Raúl Ruiz Golden Leopard winners {{1960s-drama-film-stub