Azor (2021)
78%RT Audience Score: 56%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 19 nominations
An uncommonly patient thriller, Azor elegantly slips the viewer into its cool grasp and never lets go.
If you’re in the mood for a movie that will make you feel like you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, then AZOR is the perfect pick. Critics are raving about the film’s ability to create an atmosphere of unease and paranoia, with a touch of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Fontana’s debut is a slow-burn thriller that never quite explodes into action, but that’s part of what makes it so haunting. It’s a story about the wealthy and powerful in Argentina during a time of political turmoil, but it’s also a story about the human cost of greed and corruption. So if you’re ready to be on the edge of your seat for a couple of hours, give AZOR a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Macrocosm Entertainment, Citizen Skull Productions, Bond It Media Capital
Distributor
MUBI
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 40m
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Language(s):French, Spanish, English
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Country of origin:Argentina, France, Switzerland
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 10, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 3, 2021
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Azor, drama, French (France), Andreas Fontana, David Epiney, Eugenia Mumenthaler, written by Andreas Fontana, starring Fabrizio Rongione, Stéphanie Cléau, Elli Medeiros, Alexandre Trocki, Juan Pablo Geretto, Carmen Iriondo, Dirty War, military-ruled Buenos Aires, private banker, Geneva, disappeared colleague, high finance, colonialism, surveillance, sinister web, smoke-filled lounges, lush gardens, patient thriller, uncommonly patient, elegant, cool grasp, box office gross, limited release, MUBI, MPAA rating, critic reviews, reviewed by Adam Nayman, Nick James, Simran Hans, Tara Brady, Robbie Collin, Danny Leigh, Carlos Cruz Salido, Guillem Martinez Oya, Rich Cline, Filipe Freitas, Carla Hay, Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, audience score, drama, suspenseful, wealthy, political uncertainties, Argentina, 1970s, runtime, 1h 40m, producer, directed by, written by, reviewed by
Worldwide gross: $79,742
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $86,728
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,038
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,458
US/Canada gross: $53,932
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $58,657
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,735
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,320
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $6,874
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,771
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
Stéphanie Cléau – Inès de Wiel
Elli Medeiros – Magdalena Padel-Camón, Alicia Domecq
Alexandre Trocki – Embassadeur Frydmer
Juan Pablo Geretto – Dekerman
Carmen Iriondo – Viuda Lacrosteguy
Director(s)
Andreas Fontana
Writer(s)
Andreas Fontana
Producer(s)
David Epiney, Eugenia Mumenthaler
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (46)
If marinating in paranoia is your idea of a good time, Fontana’s beautifully executed debut is as good as it gets.
December 21, 2021
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
Restraint and alarm are the film’s keynotes, with a hint of wry black comedy in every exchange.
November 13, 2021
Nick James
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Fontana’s sinewy debut teems with unseen threat. He crafts an atmosphere of grubbiness despite all the polished surfaces.
October 31, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
As with the concealing language of the dictatorship, death is everywhere, just not on screen.
October 29, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
This superb debut feature from Andreas Fontana puts an ingenious spin on the paranoid thriller: its main character is determined to behave as if he isn’t in one.
October 28, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Fontana models the surface of the film after Yvan: assertively calm. But the unease thrums, brilliantly evoked – as if in every scene, something nightmarish was always just out of shot. It is.
October 28, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
As in the worlds of Nicolas Winding Refn or Lucile Hadzihalilovic, atmosphere prevails over narrative prolixity. {Full Review in Spanish]
May 19, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Carlos Cruz Salido
El antepenúltimo mohicano
An ethical story in a context where is no ethic at all. Full review in Spanish
April 23, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Guillem Martinez Oya
Cinematismo
It’s an understated, slow-burn thriller that never breaks out into action, remaining internalised and gnawingly nasty. And where it goes is viscerally haunting.
February 10, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
It’s one of the year’s most cohesive films, and it holds up to repeated viewings.
January 23, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Filipe Freitas
Always Good Movies
The story unfolds at a pace that might be too slow for some viewers, but it should hold the interest of viewers who are intrigued by how the worlds of politics and finance are intertwined.
December 29, 2021
Carla Hay
Culture Mix
A suspenseful drama about the woes of the wealthy during times of political uncertainties in Argentina.
December 4, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality & Practice…
Plot
In 1970s Buenos Aires, a private banker and his wife become embroiled in a sinister web of colonialism, high finance, and the nation’s “Dirty War” after he replaces a colleague who has mysteriously disappeared in Andreas Fontana’s patient thriller, Azor.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels describes Fabrizio Rongione’s performance in Azor as “excellent.”
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