As I have always thought that cinema had nothing to do with nationality, I did not feel I had to choose an Argentinian “father”. I went to the other side and chose the Chilean film-maker Raul Ruiz, especially the films he made in Chile, Tres tristes tigres and Palomita Blanca. I saw Tres tristes tigres when I was 14 at the height of my formative years, one afternoon when I had played truant to go to the cinema. I was overwhelmed by a totally strange world, in a black-and-white square format. I did not understand any of the story or the film itself, but it left a very strong impression on me. I never saw it again.
Much later, I saw Palomita Blanca on video. In this film, Raul Ruiz mixes everything together: fiction, documentary, music, political statements and improvisation, all this made in the early Seventies. A lower-class girl meets a rich boy: she likes him because he reminds her of Jimmy Hendrix and several films she saw.
Martin Rejtman
