That Forward Center Died at Dawn


That Forward Center Died at Dawn is a 1961 Argentine drama film, adapted by Agustín Cuzzani from his play of the same name. It was directed by René Mugica and was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

"Cacho" Garibaldi, skillful soccer player, is bought by a millionaire named Lupus and in a stormy night moves to his mansion: a combination of palace, fortress and prison. There he learns that Lupus is a collector of exceptional human beings and that the player is not allowed to leave or play football ever again.
Cacho falls in love with another prisoner, a dancer, and they try to escape. They fail and Cacho ends up killing Lupus and getting shot by the guards.

Cast

Reception

The film was described as "an incisive chronicle of the sports world".
In Angels With Dirty Faces, Jonathan Wilson wrote: "It is a strange, partially allegorical work that features a millionaire who buys artists and scientists in order to breed them and better the species."

Legacy

The presentation of a screening at the Museum of Latino-American of Buenos Aires stated: "The libertarian spirit of Agustín Cuzzani's work, surrealist in the Creole style, was transferred to the cinema in an exemplary way by Mugica". The same source states it is the director's masterpiece.