Matadero (2022) Movie Script
0
"What was portrayed in El matadero.
Was meant to be seen, not to be written."
E. Echeverra, El matadero.
You never know
what you're shooting
until you see on the big screen.
And I filmed
a lot of things for Jared.
Murderer! Murderer!
Murderer! Murderer!
Good evening.
We're very sorry for the delay.
Despite all the protests out there,
we've decided to show Matadero.
This cursed movie
was filmed decades ago,
but it has never been shown.
Not in Argentina,
not anywhere else.
And we all know it is infamous
due to the people
who died on the set,
and it was the last film
by Jared Reed, its director.
We condemn that tragedy, obviously,
and we understand the protesters,
but we think
this movie should be seen.
Jared Reed wanted to be here
to present it to you today,
but, unfortunately,
he is unable to attend
and has asked us
to read a few words for him.
He says he hopes we can see more
than dead people in these images.
Thanks.
I met Jared in Los Angeles.
I went to UCLA to study cinema
because I wanted to be
the first director in Argentina
who didn't make
traditional and old-fashioned films
that all the idiots
in my country made.
Jared was my teacher.
Some said that before being
a filmmaker he had been in the war.
Others, that he had been a stuntman
in bloody B-movie westerns.
A lot was said about him, but
we all wanted to make films like his.
His father was an agronomist
who came from Texas
during Pern's first government.
And he spent part of
his childhood in Argentina.
But he got everything mixed up:
communists, revolutionaries,
Peronists, Hollywood...
But I didn't care.
He was making movies
that stuck with you.
"Films that defend us from death",
he said: "We have to make films
that defend us from death."
Don't look at the camera, please!
I was the only Argentinian
in his class,
and I clung to him like his shadow.
When I found out the dates,
I left the school. I left everything.
And I headed back to my country,
to work in his movie.
I was the assistant to an assistant
on the set of Matadero
but I didn't care.
I wanted to be close.
As close as possible.
If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't be
condemned to tell this story.
Shout out loud!
You're going in there
to kill the bosses' cows!
Action!
- Next!
- Moreno.
Next.
Elvio Cueva.
We only pay for days filmed.
I worked eight days.
Take it or leave it.
Next, come on.
Moreno, Fabin.
What a mess.
Yes. A mess.
We can keep going in guerrilla mode.
What's the name of the rich lady
who was here the other day?
I don't know.
We can ask if we can stay there
and film on her land.
My family has a ranch.
In Crdoba.
You have a ranch?
With animals? Cattle?
Yes.
Do you know
how to use a 16mm camera?
I can try.
We have to do a new casting.
Everything he said sounded crazy.
We need committed actors.
But to me it sounded
like an adventure.
That day I became his right hand
without a second thought.
What are you trying to prove,
Brbara?
This is getting out of hand.
Come back home. I beg you.
Your father is desperate
and I don't know
what's right or wrong anymore.
Let's stop this, please.
Come home,
I'm begging you.
Tell my father
that as long as he keeps
exploiting workers in his factory,
I'll keep sleeping
with every one of them...
Tell him all of this word for word.
Tell him that this will be
his redemption in the class struggle.
Bravo!
Bravo!
What we're doing
is indigestible for our parents' class.
It's like what Pern and Evita did
when they took the workers
to spend the summer
at the beaches of the rich. What?
We also enjoy it.
It's fun to do this.
We don't know if it's revolutionary,
but it sure helps.
And the look on their faces
at the end!
Oh, yes. I love that part.
I'm filming Matadero.
But instead of eating the bosses'
cows, the workers eat the bosses.
Are you making a horror movie
with Echevarra's Matadero?
No, it's not a horror movie.
I don't know what it is,
but it's never been done.
I'd like to work with you.
If you're interested,
Vicenta will tell you how to proceed.
Are you adapting it by yourself?
He repeated the same words
he had used with me.
With the same emphasis.
And the same passion
in the same words,
although back then
I hardly noticed those details.
What I did notice was that Brbara
was going to be his muse.
And she also started to notice.
He hired the workers
from the slaughterhouse.
He got them in the truck
with the actors,
and he dragged us all along
on his journey.
Do you want one?
No, I'm alright.
Thanks.
I don't like these people.
I don't mean the gringos,
but the brutes
from the slaughterhouse.
Everything will be fine. Okay?
That's a lot of people to feed.
Your mother left money,
but not so much.
Don't worry, Elda.
I'll take care of everything.
It's not easy to explain Peronism
to a foreigner.
I was there too.
- There?
- Yes. It was amazing.
But now it's different.
It's a horror...
There's a sorcerer
in the government.
Besides, Pern is senile.
The only real Peronism left
is going underground.
Does your role scare you?
No.
It's uncontrollable, I know,
but I want to reach that extreme.
Yes, but that's exactly
why I started doing political theatre.
You have to be able
to watch an animal get killed.
See those cows?
What comes to mind?
I don't know.
A calm place, always the same.
Until the end,
when they will be slaughtered.
- Let me help you.
- Don't worry.
I can handle it.
Esteban, tell this guy he can't
sleep here. I think he's drunk.
Excuse me, you can't sleep here.
Why not?
The actors sleep here.
But I act too.
Sorry, man.
Find somewhere else.
I'm sorry.
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five, six, seven,
eight, nine,
ten...
Eleven, twelve...
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...
Here we are.
You'll be fine here. There's a stove
and beds for everyone.
What about the bathroom?
Outside, by the chicken coop.
Hi. Excuse me.
Lady, where do the actors stay?
Aren't you comfortable here?
Don't listen to him.
He just wants to tease you.
Come here.
- Have you worked here long?
- Forty years.
I thought your house
would be more elegant.
Well, we can move some furniture.
If you want, we can take out
what you don't like.
You could shoot
the scene of the workers here.
When they enter to loot the house.
Come here.
We could shoot the scene
of the lady's rape here.
Look.
The last thing she'll see
before dying:
a chandelier
dangling from the ceiling.
It seemed like he already
had Matadero filmed in his mind
and he watched it
as he looked around.
I followed everything he looked at,
wanting to glimpse something,
like those old projectors
with holes on the sides,
which let you take a peek
at a little bit of what's coming.
But I didn't see,
or didn't want to see,
any of the bloodshed
he was looking for.
Grab it there!
Grab it! Grab it.
Hold it.
- I've got it.
- Okay.
Hold it. Hold it.
Look how brave he is.
Castrate it.
Hey, Elda. Don't be mean.
Give us some wine.
There's no wine in this house.
Just a little wine.
If you don't like this,
you can leave.
Don't beat yourself up.
Jared chose you for the lead.
Yes, I know.
I had nightmares last night
and I didn't sleep well, but it's okay.
Believe me, everything's fine.
I just don't quite understand
where he wants to take me.
Maybe he's not so sure, either.
Besides, remember that
the end of the story is still open.
It's good
that he still has to write it.
It seemed to me he knows very well
where he wants to go,
I just don't get it.
It's weird. I trust everything
he tells me, working with my body.
Are you going to tell me
about that nightmare?
No, I'd rather not talk about it now.
Let's get eight hours' sleep.
I'm turning off the light. Rest.
You too. Good night, Romi.
Pour me some.
Stingy old woman. They've got
a lot of bottles over there.
Does anyone understand
a goddamn thing these gringos ask?
I don't understand anything.
- The young actors understand him.
- Those guys aren't actors.
- They're good actors. Peronists.
- Do you think so?
If they say they're Peronists... Even
the gringo will say he's a Peronist.
As long as they pay us
what they promised,
- let them say what they want.
- Of course.
Did you bring another one?
The first three days,
time passed very, very quickly,
with the costume tests,
the first rehearsals
and Elda, who became
a real production manager.
Rice, 20 kilos.
It's a lot, mom.
How many carrots did I say?
20 kilos.
Make it 15.
If it's not enough,
tell him the lady will pay him
when she gets back from Europe.
It didn"t feel like we were
on an amateur shoot.
Where's your brother?
- He's with the movie people.
- Tell him to come.
Who are they going to hang here?
I'll tell you later.
Tadeo ended up
as my camera assistant
and Sheila took over
the dressing room and makeup.
Scene 3, take 5.
Action.
Almost without realizing it,
we were already filming Matadero.
Again. Let me do it again.
I can do better,
much better.
Let's repeat it! Get ready!
Get ready! Again!
We're shooting again! Sound!
You're being filmed, right?
And they make you
do things and say things.
Well, that's acting.
You can't get paid peanuts.
What do you know
how much they pay us?
Come on, Juan.
You have to believe in something.
The final scene, when she's crying...
It hasn't been filmed like this
here before, with that intensity.
I don't know... I have doubts.
What are you saying?
You can't get it out of your mind.
So? And so what? What if
you can't get it out of your mind?
A movie is for life.
We must be very sure
of what we're going to say here.
That's what the director's for.
Did you see that?
Yes, it's impressive, but what I saw
was pure violence, no politics.
Here they only make movies that
indoctrinate you, and they're a pain.
Or they show you how poor and
miserable the poor and miserable are.
What's the use of risking it
to do something like that?
No.
It seems to me in this country
the only ones who make movies
are the ranchers' children.
You're not risking anything, anyway.
Okay, stop.
I know when we do theatre
with the workers
we don't take them
to sleep in our houses, but...
Hey, Lisan.
Make no mistake, Lisandro.
If you keep talking but won't dare
to film something brutal,
we won't believe anything.
They trust in you.
Me, not so much.
Don't mess with us.
We all wanted to be part
of something much stronger and true.
In that,
whether it was cinema or militancy,
we were all equally involved.
Or at least that is what
we wanted to believe.
In secret I re-watched Jared's film,
but all I could see was
Brbara's horrified gaze.
Don't be scared.
I couldn't sleep.
I didn't know how to get
your attention. You were so focused.
Do you want one?
At first I don't ask myself
what we're doing there or anything.
There's nothing weird,
but I'm not with him.
I'm in the other car.
We follow them
along an increasingly narrower path,
with fewer cars,
which looks like a country road.
At the end,
we're on a dark dirt road
and we end up here.
- What do you mean "here"?
- In this ranch.
But it can't be.
You hadn't been here before.
Yes, it's weird enough,
but it was this one.
Identical.
The garden,
the tree line at the entrance,
one after the other until the gate.
Well, all the ranches
are kind of similar.
I know,
but it was this one.
It's like I recognized it
as soon as we got here.
You must think I'm crazy.
No.
Where did you learn to ride so well?
- As a stunt double.
- Were you a stunt double?
That's where you met Jared?
Do you know
we're filming the fight here?
Come here.
Come here.
Sit down.
Sit down, I want to try something.
When you're on the table,
it has to be real.
Do you understand?
Yes.
Okay, if you want...
All right. Let's do that then.
Okay, bye.
Do you recognize them?
The one in dark clothes
is Lisandro Elkano.
The bearded guy
is Esteban Ahumada.
And that's Jared Reed.
You get closer.
First her, and then them.
Do you understand?
How will you do it?
- With both hands better.
- Okay.
- Are we ready?
- Yes.
The bosses, only the heads.
Like this?
Fine.
- Sound.
- Rolling.
- Camera.
- Rolling.
45, fifth, first.
Action.
You son of a bitch,
you really pissed on me! I saw you!
He really pissed on me!
Son of a bitch!
- Why did you do that?
- Son of a bitch!
- What did you do?
- He really pissed on me!
Why did you do that?
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Don't ever come back here again.
You're bastards.
You're nothing
but a bunch of sold out bastards.
What shall we do?
Let's find more film tins.
We won't make it to the end.
Jared, we need more tins.
Do we have to do
the piss scene tomorrow?
- Can't we do it another time?
- Why don't we do it another day?
I have to roll around in the mud
at dawn. Don't complain.
You know it's not funny at all,
asshole.
Who's gonna replace
that son of a bitch?
Facu, Elda's eldest son.
Look what a nice movie exploitation
you made here.
Don't listen to him.
He was born an asshole.
Jared is watching
another one of his movies. Let's go?
Let's run away tonight.
Come on...
Let them stay in their nice ranch.
But we can't. It's a commitment.
It's not our fight.
Look at me.
And there you kiss me
like a ladies' man.
It must be the only scene
in this movie that has no blood.
Yes, maybe,
but it's the only one
that ends in a kiss.
No!
You have to get up.
When she covers herself with her
hands, you pour the urine on her.
And you do the same with them.
Let's go again!
Sound.
Rolling.
- Camera.
- Rolling.
45, one, second.
Action!
No.
I don't feel good.
I need to stop for a moment.
You have to make an effort.
Stop, she's not feeling alright.
Why don't we stop for a while
and talk about what we asked you?
We've been like this all morning.
This isn't college theatre.
No. Do you want us
to finish this?
Let's do what we asked before.
You haven't answered anything yet.
We want Brbara's character
to betray us
and help the workers
with their revolt.
Yes, for us
it's important to feel that.
Our gestures are pure classism.
We didn't come here for that.
Yes. We don't want
to keep working like this.
What's this? A mutiny?
I told you I'll think about it.
- Miss.
- What is it, Elda?
A man from the city
came looking for Mr. Reed.
Me? Here?
Yes. He's in the car.
Hello?
Is there anything wrong?
No. Everything's fine.
That's Nick, my producer.
He brings good news.
He got more money.
We'll have the film tins we needed.
Fine.
I have to go to Buenos Aires
for a few days.
I'll get the material and develop
what we've already filmed.
But Vicenta is staying in charge.
- Me? No.
- Yes.
Come.
Come! Come.
Let's not slow down.
I'll think about what you suggested.
I wanted to film.
I wanted to make films like his.
But, in all the ways
I'd ever dreamt of being there,
it never occurred to me
to do it like this, to come to this.
That day I felt fear.
I wanted to leave everything,
to run away.
But, as soon as I filmed
one of his shots, I made it mine.
His shot, his actress, his movie.
I still don't know how I'm going
to tell the rest of the story.
And... cut.
Very nice, guys. Very good.
Great, Juanchi. You were great.
How did you feel?
Fine.
- So?
- Okay. I think we got it.
Will people understand it
in the context of the story?
Yes. If Jared edits it before
the workers enter the house,
you become a martyr.
He's gonna get mad
when he finds out.
The two days that Jared was gone
were a little miracle
that marked us forever.
I was a total idiot,
a moron, a deluded fool.
Who didn't want to look at the world
beyond her camera's viewfinder.
It's been out of order
since yesterday.
I was going to call my family.
If you want to call, you can go
to the shop on the road.
Thanks.
Add a drop and let it fall, Sheila.
Perfect.
Thank you.
Juanchi, hold me. There.
And come a little closer.
Grab me harder.
- Sound.
- Rolling.
46B, five, first.
And...
action!
Don't move!
Stay still or I'll cut you!
- No, sir! Sir, please!
- Stop or I'll cut you!
Please! Please, sir! I'm on your side!
I'm on your side, please!
Don't move!
Don't move!
Please! Please, sir!
I'm on your side. I'm on your side!
Please, don't hurt me! Please!
Don't move! Don't move!
Please, don't!
Don't hurt me, please!
I'm on your side! No!
All these subversive types are harmless
until they shoot you in the head.
Unfortunately, sometimes
we have to kill some of them.
So his comrades come
to the burial,
and that's how we start
to make connections.
The one we need to reach is him,
Ernesto Witickevich,
a.k.a. "el Polaquito".
Your two actors, Lisandro Elkano
and Esteban Ahumada, are below him.
They organise themselves
like a triangle.
Each member
only knows three people:
a superior and two in his charge.
In that way,
we find it very difficult
to find out who they are,
because in practice
they don't know each other, either.
Sooner rather than later,
your actors...
Juan, when I say "action",
put your hand in, real soft.
Okay.
Take your hat off.
Perfect.
Raise the lamp a little.
Good.
Can we talk?
Can it be at dinner instead?
I still have a while.
No, it's better now.
Stop sticking to the Yankee's script.
What are you doing?
You're filming Brbara and Romina's
looks and tears, and...
With us, they worked
for something more important.
You're turning them into actresses.
Why do you say that
about the girls?
I don't want to imagine what
you really think of the working class.
Forgive me.
All right.
If you want,
we'll talk about it at dinner.
But we need to know.
Are you with us?
Make sure
everything gets set up right.
Okay.
You must be Vicenta.
Yes.
Jared has told me a lot about you.
I'm Marcela,
the new assistant on Matadero.
The line producer, so to say.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Nice place you have.
Thank you.
When you have a minute,
will you bring me the calendar?
And hand off the production to me.
Okay?
I'm here to help in any way I can.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Where are the guys?
They went into town to buy
cigarettes. They'll be back soon.
So?
What did the lab say about it?
That it's great.
We'll see it together.
Yes.
No.
Do you know who I can talk to?
I'm looking for him, it's important.
No, it's fine, don't worry.
Okay. Bye. We'll talk.
- Nothing?
- No, no idea.
- So what do we do?
- I don't know.
Shall we buy cigarettes?
Okay.
Excuse me.
Hi, good morning.
Cigarettes?
Put the leg here,
it hooks up and goes up.
And who's hanging?
Miss Brbara.
Give them to Elda. We're splitting
the rest with the boys.
Who are all these people?
Technicians sent by my producer.
It's normal.
It's his money.
He wants to have it under control.
I don't understand.
Why do you want
to finish your movie like that,
in a hurry?
This is crazy.
There's no time.
We have to remove things,
get to the end sooner.
When he returned to the ranch,
he showed us the developed film.
He made us look at ourselves
on his screen.
He made us see our work
on the big screen.
He said:
"Let's shoot the movie together.
You can't slack off now,
we must do our best until the end."
He said it, and it affected us all.
I really want to finish this movie.
All right. What shall we do?
It seems to me that his producer
is intervening in the shoot.
There's nothing left
of the film we were promised.
We're gonna end up
doing a shitty gaucho movie.
I think we need to do
something more important.
I say we hijack the film.
Let's shoot the scene tomorrow
and hijack the gringo's movie.
Let's take everything:
the camera, the tins, all the material.
We'll finish making
the movie we want.
You mean coming in
and taking everything?
Yes.
A real action.
That's what they'd ask us, right?
And then?
After stealing the film
from the Americans, what do we do?
Do we go underground forever?
Is that what you're suggesting?
Leave them at the stop on the road.
All right?
Leave it loose, Tadeo.
That's all right.
I'll give a few stitches
so the dress won't fall down on her.
It will show It won't look good.
I want to see her go up.
Why don't we tell it
from the workers' point of view?
- It'll be easier.
- I don't like off-screen.
She'll be more comfortable.
- It's going to show.
- It's not your movie.
He had discarded me completely
and he was about to shoot the end
of his movie like this, in a hurry.
Hold on, it's the last one.
Okay? It's gonna be great.
Come on.
That's when I gave it all up.
And I began to count every minute
until this madness ended
once and for all.
Raise her up.
Anyone who isn't authorized
has to leave now
He kicked us all out.
He said he wanted to film it,
with his camera,
and that he was going to dub
all the sound from that scene.
And he shut us out.
He was left alone with his film,
locked in his slaughterhouse.
They never got to see
the finished film.
They don't even know
how or where it starts.
"What was portrayed in El matadero.
Was meant to be seen, not to be written."
E. Echeverra, El matadero.
You never know
what you're shooting
until you see on the big screen.
And I filmed
a lot of things for Jared.
Murderer! Murderer!
Murderer! Murderer!
Good evening.
We're very sorry for the delay.
Despite all the protests out there,
we've decided to show Matadero.
This cursed movie
was filmed decades ago,
but it has never been shown.
Not in Argentina,
not anywhere else.
And we all know it is infamous
due to the people
who died on the set,
and it was the last film
by Jared Reed, its director.
We condemn that tragedy, obviously,
and we understand the protesters,
but we think
this movie should be seen.
Jared Reed wanted to be here
to present it to you today,
but, unfortunately,
he is unable to attend
and has asked us
to read a few words for him.
He says he hopes we can see more
than dead people in these images.
Thanks.
I met Jared in Los Angeles.
I went to UCLA to study cinema
because I wanted to be
the first director in Argentina
who didn't make
traditional and old-fashioned films
that all the idiots
in my country made.
Jared was my teacher.
Some said that before being
a filmmaker he had been in the war.
Others, that he had been a stuntman
in bloody B-movie westerns.
A lot was said about him, but
we all wanted to make films like his.
His father was an agronomist
who came from Texas
during Pern's first government.
And he spent part of
his childhood in Argentina.
But he got everything mixed up:
communists, revolutionaries,
Peronists, Hollywood...
But I didn't care.
He was making movies
that stuck with you.
"Films that defend us from death",
he said: "We have to make films
that defend us from death."
Don't look at the camera, please!
I was the only Argentinian
in his class,
and I clung to him like his shadow.
When I found out the dates,
I left the school. I left everything.
And I headed back to my country,
to work in his movie.
I was the assistant to an assistant
on the set of Matadero
but I didn't care.
I wanted to be close.
As close as possible.
If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't be
condemned to tell this story.
Shout out loud!
You're going in there
to kill the bosses' cows!
Action!
- Next!
- Moreno.
Next.
Elvio Cueva.
We only pay for days filmed.
I worked eight days.
Take it or leave it.
Next, come on.
Moreno, Fabin.
What a mess.
Yes. A mess.
We can keep going in guerrilla mode.
What's the name of the rich lady
who was here the other day?
I don't know.
We can ask if we can stay there
and film on her land.
My family has a ranch.
In Crdoba.
You have a ranch?
With animals? Cattle?
Yes.
Do you know
how to use a 16mm camera?
I can try.
We have to do a new casting.
Everything he said sounded crazy.
We need committed actors.
But to me it sounded
like an adventure.
That day I became his right hand
without a second thought.
What are you trying to prove,
Brbara?
This is getting out of hand.
Come back home. I beg you.
Your father is desperate
and I don't know
what's right or wrong anymore.
Let's stop this, please.
Come home,
I'm begging you.
Tell my father
that as long as he keeps
exploiting workers in his factory,
I'll keep sleeping
with every one of them...
Tell him all of this word for word.
Tell him that this will be
his redemption in the class struggle.
Bravo!
Bravo!
What we're doing
is indigestible for our parents' class.
It's like what Pern and Evita did
when they took the workers
to spend the summer
at the beaches of the rich. What?
We also enjoy it.
It's fun to do this.
We don't know if it's revolutionary,
but it sure helps.
And the look on their faces
at the end!
Oh, yes. I love that part.
I'm filming Matadero.
But instead of eating the bosses'
cows, the workers eat the bosses.
Are you making a horror movie
with Echevarra's Matadero?
No, it's not a horror movie.
I don't know what it is,
but it's never been done.
I'd like to work with you.
If you're interested,
Vicenta will tell you how to proceed.
Are you adapting it by yourself?
He repeated the same words
he had used with me.
With the same emphasis.
And the same passion
in the same words,
although back then
I hardly noticed those details.
What I did notice was that Brbara
was going to be his muse.
And she also started to notice.
He hired the workers
from the slaughterhouse.
He got them in the truck
with the actors,
and he dragged us all along
on his journey.
Do you want one?
No, I'm alright.
Thanks.
I don't like these people.
I don't mean the gringos,
but the brutes
from the slaughterhouse.
Everything will be fine. Okay?
That's a lot of people to feed.
Your mother left money,
but not so much.
Don't worry, Elda.
I'll take care of everything.
It's not easy to explain Peronism
to a foreigner.
I was there too.
- There?
- Yes. It was amazing.
But now it's different.
It's a horror...
There's a sorcerer
in the government.
Besides, Pern is senile.
The only real Peronism left
is going underground.
Does your role scare you?
No.
It's uncontrollable, I know,
but I want to reach that extreme.
Yes, but that's exactly
why I started doing political theatre.
You have to be able
to watch an animal get killed.
See those cows?
What comes to mind?
I don't know.
A calm place, always the same.
Until the end,
when they will be slaughtered.
- Let me help you.
- Don't worry.
I can handle it.
Esteban, tell this guy he can't
sleep here. I think he's drunk.
Excuse me, you can't sleep here.
Why not?
The actors sleep here.
But I act too.
Sorry, man.
Find somewhere else.
I'm sorry.
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five, six, seven,
eight, nine,
ten...
Eleven, twelve...
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...
Here we are.
You'll be fine here. There's a stove
and beds for everyone.
What about the bathroom?
Outside, by the chicken coop.
Hi. Excuse me.
Lady, where do the actors stay?
Aren't you comfortable here?
Don't listen to him.
He just wants to tease you.
Come here.
- Have you worked here long?
- Forty years.
I thought your house
would be more elegant.
Well, we can move some furniture.
If you want, we can take out
what you don't like.
You could shoot
the scene of the workers here.
When they enter to loot the house.
Come here.
We could shoot the scene
of the lady's rape here.
Look.
The last thing she'll see
before dying:
a chandelier
dangling from the ceiling.
It seemed like he already
had Matadero filmed in his mind
and he watched it
as he looked around.
I followed everything he looked at,
wanting to glimpse something,
like those old projectors
with holes on the sides,
which let you take a peek
at a little bit of what's coming.
But I didn't see,
or didn't want to see,
any of the bloodshed
he was looking for.
Grab it there!
Grab it! Grab it.
Hold it.
- I've got it.
- Okay.
Hold it. Hold it.
Look how brave he is.
Castrate it.
Hey, Elda. Don't be mean.
Give us some wine.
There's no wine in this house.
Just a little wine.
If you don't like this,
you can leave.
Don't beat yourself up.
Jared chose you for the lead.
Yes, I know.
I had nightmares last night
and I didn't sleep well, but it's okay.
Believe me, everything's fine.
I just don't quite understand
where he wants to take me.
Maybe he's not so sure, either.
Besides, remember that
the end of the story is still open.
It's good
that he still has to write it.
It seemed to me he knows very well
where he wants to go,
I just don't get it.
It's weird. I trust everything
he tells me, working with my body.
Are you going to tell me
about that nightmare?
No, I'd rather not talk about it now.
Let's get eight hours' sleep.
I'm turning off the light. Rest.
You too. Good night, Romi.
Pour me some.
Stingy old woman. They've got
a lot of bottles over there.
Does anyone understand
a goddamn thing these gringos ask?
I don't understand anything.
- The young actors understand him.
- Those guys aren't actors.
- They're good actors. Peronists.
- Do you think so?
If they say they're Peronists... Even
the gringo will say he's a Peronist.
As long as they pay us
what they promised,
- let them say what they want.
- Of course.
Did you bring another one?
The first three days,
time passed very, very quickly,
with the costume tests,
the first rehearsals
and Elda, who became
a real production manager.
Rice, 20 kilos.
It's a lot, mom.
How many carrots did I say?
20 kilos.
Make it 15.
If it's not enough,
tell him the lady will pay him
when she gets back from Europe.
It didn"t feel like we were
on an amateur shoot.
Where's your brother?
- He's with the movie people.
- Tell him to come.
Who are they going to hang here?
I'll tell you later.
Tadeo ended up
as my camera assistant
and Sheila took over
the dressing room and makeup.
Scene 3, take 5.
Action.
Almost without realizing it,
we were already filming Matadero.
Again. Let me do it again.
I can do better,
much better.
Let's repeat it! Get ready!
Get ready! Again!
We're shooting again! Sound!
You're being filmed, right?
And they make you
do things and say things.
Well, that's acting.
You can't get paid peanuts.
What do you know
how much they pay us?
Come on, Juan.
You have to believe in something.
The final scene, when she's crying...
It hasn't been filmed like this
here before, with that intensity.
I don't know... I have doubts.
What are you saying?
You can't get it out of your mind.
So? And so what? What if
you can't get it out of your mind?
A movie is for life.
We must be very sure
of what we're going to say here.
That's what the director's for.
Did you see that?
Yes, it's impressive, but what I saw
was pure violence, no politics.
Here they only make movies that
indoctrinate you, and they're a pain.
Or they show you how poor and
miserable the poor and miserable are.
What's the use of risking it
to do something like that?
No.
It seems to me in this country
the only ones who make movies
are the ranchers' children.
You're not risking anything, anyway.
Okay, stop.
I know when we do theatre
with the workers
we don't take them
to sleep in our houses, but...
Hey, Lisan.
Make no mistake, Lisandro.
If you keep talking but won't dare
to film something brutal,
we won't believe anything.
They trust in you.
Me, not so much.
Don't mess with us.
We all wanted to be part
of something much stronger and true.
In that,
whether it was cinema or militancy,
we were all equally involved.
Or at least that is what
we wanted to believe.
In secret I re-watched Jared's film,
but all I could see was
Brbara's horrified gaze.
Don't be scared.
I couldn't sleep.
I didn't know how to get
your attention. You were so focused.
Do you want one?
At first I don't ask myself
what we're doing there or anything.
There's nothing weird,
but I'm not with him.
I'm in the other car.
We follow them
along an increasingly narrower path,
with fewer cars,
which looks like a country road.
At the end,
we're on a dark dirt road
and we end up here.
- What do you mean "here"?
- In this ranch.
But it can't be.
You hadn't been here before.
Yes, it's weird enough,
but it was this one.
Identical.
The garden,
the tree line at the entrance,
one after the other until the gate.
Well, all the ranches
are kind of similar.
I know,
but it was this one.
It's like I recognized it
as soon as we got here.
You must think I'm crazy.
No.
Where did you learn to ride so well?
- As a stunt double.
- Were you a stunt double?
That's where you met Jared?
Do you know
we're filming the fight here?
Come here.
Come here.
Sit down.
Sit down, I want to try something.
When you're on the table,
it has to be real.
Do you understand?
Yes.
Okay, if you want...
All right. Let's do that then.
Okay, bye.
Do you recognize them?
The one in dark clothes
is Lisandro Elkano.
The bearded guy
is Esteban Ahumada.
And that's Jared Reed.
You get closer.
First her, and then them.
Do you understand?
How will you do it?
- With both hands better.
- Okay.
- Are we ready?
- Yes.
The bosses, only the heads.
Like this?
Fine.
- Sound.
- Rolling.
- Camera.
- Rolling.
45, fifth, first.
Action.
You son of a bitch,
you really pissed on me! I saw you!
He really pissed on me!
Son of a bitch!
- Why did you do that?
- Son of a bitch!
- What did you do?
- He really pissed on me!
Why did you do that?
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Don't ever come back here again.
You're bastards.
You're nothing
but a bunch of sold out bastards.
What shall we do?
Let's find more film tins.
We won't make it to the end.
Jared, we need more tins.
Do we have to do
the piss scene tomorrow?
- Can't we do it another time?
- Why don't we do it another day?
I have to roll around in the mud
at dawn. Don't complain.
You know it's not funny at all,
asshole.
Who's gonna replace
that son of a bitch?
Facu, Elda's eldest son.
Look what a nice movie exploitation
you made here.
Don't listen to him.
He was born an asshole.
Jared is watching
another one of his movies. Let's go?
Let's run away tonight.
Come on...
Let them stay in their nice ranch.
But we can't. It's a commitment.
It's not our fight.
Look at me.
And there you kiss me
like a ladies' man.
It must be the only scene
in this movie that has no blood.
Yes, maybe,
but it's the only one
that ends in a kiss.
No!
You have to get up.
When she covers herself with her
hands, you pour the urine on her.
And you do the same with them.
Let's go again!
Sound.
Rolling.
- Camera.
- Rolling.
45, one, second.
Action!
No.
I don't feel good.
I need to stop for a moment.
You have to make an effort.
Stop, she's not feeling alright.
Why don't we stop for a while
and talk about what we asked you?
We've been like this all morning.
This isn't college theatre.
No. Do you want us
to finish this?
Let's do what we asked before.
You haven't answered anything yet.
We want Brbara's character
to betray us
and help the workers
with their revolt.
Yes, for us
it's important to feel that.
Our gestures are pure classism.
We didn't come here for that.
Yes. We don't want
to keep working like this.
What's this? A mutiny?
I told you I'll think about it.
- Miss.
- What is it, Elda?
A man from the city
came looking for Mr. Reed.
Me? Here?
Yes. He's in the car.
Hello?
Is there anything wrong?
No. Everything's fine.
That's Nick, my producer.
He brings good news.
He got more money.
We'll have the film tins we needed.
Fine.
I have to go to Buenos Aires
for a few days.
I'll get the material and develop
what we've already filmed.
But Vicenta is staying in charge.
- Me? No.
- Yes.
Come.
Come! Come.
Let's not slow down.
I'll think about what you suggested.
I wanted to film.
I wanted to make films like his.
But, in all the ways
I'd ever dreamt of being there,
it never occurred to me
to do it like this, to come to this.
That day I felt fear.
I wanted to leave everything,
to run away.
But, as soon as I filmed
one of his shots, I made it mine.
His shot, his actress, his movie.
I still don't know how I'm going
to tell the rest of the story.
And... cut.
Very nice, guys. Very good.
Great, Juanchi. You were great.
How did you feel?
Fine.
- So?
- Okay. I think we got it.
Will people understand it
in the context of the story?
Yes. If Jared edits it before
the workers enter the house,
you become a martyr.
He's gonna get mad
when he finds out.
The two days that Jared was gone
were a little miracle
that marked us forever.
I was a total idiot,
a moron, a deluded fool.
Who didn't want to look at the world
beyond her camera's viewfinder.
It's been out of order
since yesterday.
I was going to call my family.
If you want to call, you can go
to the shop on the road.
Thanks.
Add a drop and let it fall, Sheila.
Perfect.
Thank you.
Juanchi, hold me. There.
And come a little closer.
Grab me harder.
- Sound.
- Rolling.
46B, five, first.
And...
action!
Don't move!
Stay still or I'll cut you!
- No, sir! Sir, please!
- Stop or I'll cut you!
Please! Please, sir! I'm on your side!
I'm on your side, please!
Don't move!
Don't move!
Please! Please, sir!
I'm on your side. I'm on your side!
Please, don't hurt me! Please!
Don't move! Don't move!
Please, don't!
Don't hurt me, please!
I'm on your side! No!
All these subversive types are harmless
until they shoot you in the head.
Unfortunately, sometimes
we have to kill some of them.
So his comrades come
to the burial,
and that's how we start
to make connections.
The one we need to reach is him,
Ernesto Witickevich,
a.k.a. "el Polaquito".
Your two actors, Lisandro Elkano
and Esteban Ahumada, are below him.
They organise themselves
like a triangle.
Each member
only knows three people:
a superior and two in his charge.
In that way,
we find it very difficult
to find out who they are,
because in practice
they don't know each other, either.
Sooner rather than later,
your actors...
Juan, when I say "action",
put your hand in, real soft.
Okay.
Take your hat off.
Perfect.
Raise the lamp a little.
Good.
Can we talk?
Can it be at dinner instead?
I still have a while.
No, it's better now.
Stop sticking to the Yankee's script.
What are you doing?
You're filming Brbara and Romina's
looks and tears, and...
With us, they worked
for something more important.
You're turning them into actresses.
Why do you say that
about the girls?
I don't want to imagine what
you really think of the working class.
Forgive me.
All right.
If you want,
we'll talk about it at dinner.
But we need to know.
Are you with us?
Make sure
everything gets set up right.
Okay.
You must be Vicenta.
Yes.
Jared has told me a lot about you.
I'm Marcela,
the new assistant on Matadero.
The line producer, so to say.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Nice place you have.
Thank you.
When you have a minute,
will you bring me the calendar?
And hand off the production to me.
Okay?
I'm here to help in any way I can.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Where are the guys?
They went into town to buy
cigarettes. They'll be back soon.
So?
What did the lab say about it?
That it's great.
We'll see it together.
Yes.
No.
Do you know who I can talk to?
I'm looking for him, it's important.
No, it's fine, don't worry.
Okay. Bye. We'll talk.
- Nothing?
- No, no idea.
- So what do we do?
- I don't know.
Shall we buy cigarettes?
Okay.
Excuse me.
Hi, good morning.
Cigarettes?
Put the leg here,
it hooks up and goes up.
And who's hanging?
Miss Brbara.
Give them to Elda. We're splitting
the rest with the boys.
Who are all these people?
Technicians sent by my producer.
It's normal.
It's his money.
He wants to have it under control.
I don't understand.
Why do you want
to finish your movie like that,
in a hurry?
This is crazy.
There's no time.
We have to remove things,
get to the end sooner.
When he returned to the ranch,
he showed us the developed film.
He made us look at ourselves
on his screen.
He made us see our work
on the big screen.
He said:
"Let's shoot the movie together.
You can't slack off now,
we must do our best until the end."
He said it, and it affected us all.
I really want to finish this movie.
All right. What shall we do?
It seems to me that his producer
is intervening in the shoot.
There's nothing left
of the film we were promised.
We're gonna end up
doing a shitty gaucho movie.
I think we need to do
something more important.
I say we hijack the film.
Let's shoot the scene tomorrow
and hijack the gringo's movie.
Let's take everything:
the camera, the tins, all the material.
We'll finish making
the movie we want.
You mean coming in
and taking everything?
Yes.
A real action.
That's what they'd ask us, right?
And then?
After stealing the film
from the Americans, what do we do?
Do we go underground forever?
Is that what you're suggesting?
Leave them at the stop on the road.
All right?
Leave it loose, Tadeo.
That's all right.
I'll give a few stitches
so the dress won't fall down on her.
It will show It won't look good.
I want to see her go up.
Why don't we tell it
from the workers' point of view?
- It'll be easier.
- I don't like off-screen.
She'll be more comfortable.
- It's going to show.
- It's not your movie.
He had discarded me completely
and he was about to shoot the end
of his movie like this, in a hurry.
Hold on, it's the last one.
Okay? It's gonna be great.
Come on.
That's when I gave it all up.
And I began to count every minute
until this madness ended
once and for all.
Raise her up.
Anyone who isn't authorized
has to leave now
He kicked us all out.
He said he wanted to film it,
with his camera,
and that he was going to dub
all the sound from that scene.
And he shut us out.
He was left alone with his film,
locked in his slaughterhouse.
They never got to see
the finished film.
They don't even know
how or where it starts.