El Polaquito

"First you have to know how to suffer, then love, then leave."

2003 1h 32m ES

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 45

DramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

At age 13, a street kid known as "El Polaquito" makes his living mostly by singing tangos on Buenos Aires commuter trains. He falls in love with a 16 year old prostitute, also working for the Mafia controlling child exploitation in one of Argentina's busiest train stations. He tries to rescue her from this cruel life with no future. But to do so, he must confront the ruthless adult gang leaders, as well as the young kids who protect them, believing that this Mafia is truly their only option.

“First you have to know how to suffer, then love, then leave.”

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Cast

Abel Ayala
El Polaquito
Marina Glezer
La Pelu
Fernando Roa
El Vieja
Roly Serrano
El Rengo
Víctor Hugo Carrizo
Drugstore's sales man
Osvaldo Sanders
Fabián Arenillas

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Juan Carlos Desanzo
Writers: Juan Carlos Desanzo, Lito Espinosa
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Argentina, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Argentina, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Juan Carlos Desanzo, shot by Carlos Torlaschi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Martín Bianchedi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sergio Zóttola shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Abel Ayala and Marina Glezer and Fernando Roa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "First you have to know how to suffer, then love, then leave.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Juan Carlos Desanzo directs. Carlos Torlaschi behind the camera. Martín Bianchedi scores. Sergio Zóttola cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Argentina, Spain. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 23 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Argentina, Spain.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Juan Carlos Desanzo, shot by Carlos Torlaschi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Martín Bianchedi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Sergio Zóttola shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Abel Ayala and Marina Glezer and Fernando Roa carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "First you have to know how to suffer, then love, then leave.".
9IMDB entry: tt0283552 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 45 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.