El Aura (The Aura) (2006)
84%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 11 wins & 7 nominations
The Aura is a film that delves into the depths of the human psyche, exploring themes of fate, choice, and the consequences of our actions. Bielinsky’s direction is nothing short of masterful, with nuanced performances that convey emotion through subtle gestures and silences. The film’s weird, expressionistic visuals and imaginative piano score add to the haunting atmosphere, making it a tense and twisty thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. While it may occasionally stray into digressions, they are interesting and unpredictable, adding to the film’s overall unpredictability. The Aura is a worthy follow-up to Bielinsky’s debut, Nine Queens, and a must-see for fans of psychological thrillers.
The Aura is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With a plot that involves a taxidermist, a heist, and a case of mistaken identity, what more could you want? The film is visually stunning, with a score that will send shivers down your spine. While it may stray from the main story line at times, these digressions are interesting and add to the unpredictability of the movie. Overall, The Aura is a must-see for anyone who loves a good psychological drama with plenty of twists and turns.
Production Company(ies)
AGBO Hotdog Hands Ley Line Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Bariloche, Argentina
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2007
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Ricardo Darín, Dolores Fonzi, Pablo Cedrón, Jorge D’Elía, Alejandro Awada, Rafael Castejón, directed by Fabián Bielinsky, written by Fabián Bielinsky, crime, mystery, thriller, drama, box office gross, budget, reviewed by Geoffrey O’Brien, Roger Moore, Geoff Pevere, Marrit Ingman, Ty Burr, Kirk Honeycutt, Amber Wilkinson, Beth Accomando, MPAA rating, taxidermist, epilepsy, perfect crime, hunting trip, armored car, casino profits, criminal experience, illness, suspense, Antonioni, fate, choice, psychological drama, unexpected twists, character-heavy, unpredictable
Worldwide gross: $1,805,261
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,751,188
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,332
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 300,020
US/Canada gross: $58,804
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $89,616
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,677
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,601
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $7,012
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,769
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Dolores Fonzi – Diana Dietrich
Pablo Cedrón – Sosa
Jorge D’Elía – Urien
Alejandro Awada – Sontag
Rafael Castejón – Vega
Director(s)
Fabián Bielinsky
Writer(s)
Fabián Bielinsky
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
11 wins & 7 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (6)
If less neatly realized than Nine Queens, The Aura is the more ambitious film. It is all the more haunting for suggesting narrative possibilities that Bielinsky was just beginning to explore.
November 19, 2013
Geoffrey O’Brien
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
May 13, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
A fuzzy attempt at significance that seems as aimlessly lost in the woods as its heist-plotting characters.
March 9, 2007 | Rating: 2/4
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
Visually, the film is almost perfect, with a weird, expressionistic sensibility considerably more sophisticated than the low-fi street shooting of Nine Queens, while the imaginative piano score trickles between pastoral harmony and primal discord.
February 3, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The Aura is richer and less showy than Nine Queens, and it lifts off from the gangster genre to contemplate deeper mysteries. Reminiscent of Antonioni’s The Passenger in its obsession with fate and choice.
January 13, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Bielinsky also is a most expressive director, achieving considerable nuances and depths of emotion with characters’ looks, gestures, body language and silences.
January 13, 2007
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Tense and twisty, this is what thrillers should be about.
June 13, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
I have to admit I was more than intrigued by a film featuring an epileptic taxidermist with a photographic memory who fancies that he can commit the perfect crime.
October 20, 2007
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
It’s intriguing and absorbing, this thriller about a lonely taxidermist caught up in a shooting accident, a case of mistaken identity and a heist.
March 19, 2007
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
This character-heavy crime thriller from Argentina occasionally gets off track, straying into territory that has little to do with the main story line. But they are interesting digressions, and it’s sort of nice to have a movie that’s so unpredictable.
March 16, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Jeff Vice
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
A startling psychological drama with plenty of unexpected twists, a worthy follow-up [to] Fabian Bielinsky[‘s] riveting debut Nine Queens.
March 16, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Sean P. Means
Salt Lake Tribune
A delight to look at, and full of both beautiful music and beautiful silences.
March 9, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies…
Plot
A shy taxidermist with epilepsy dreams of committing the perfect crime and unexpectedly gets the chance when he accidentally kills a shady character during a hunting trip, leading him to take over the victim’s plan to rob an armored car carrying casino profits, but his lack of criminal experience and illness put his life in real danger in the cerebral thriller, The Aura.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Aura stars Ricardo Darín, who plays a taxidermist with epilepsy and a dream of committing the perfect crime.
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