“Under the veils of sensation, something we’ve never had”
When the wealthy Isabel (a perfect Maitina De Marco) dies, and her prize-winning Afghan hound Prince inherits her luxury home in Punta del Este, Uruguay, the lives of her estranged family and that of her ex- lover/ butler’s are thrown into turmoil, revealing an ever-mounting level of class prejudice, greed, avarice, with very little love forthcoming from the dystopian family she has left behind.
Prince is an astonishingly beautiful Afghan hound who has accumulated a wall of trophies meticulously displayed by his fawning owner in her living room. Life circulates entirely around the gorgeous dog: the next shampoo and blow dry, the next dog show and of course, the accumulation of yet more trophies. This is a dog that always wins the ‘Best of Show’, Crufts’ owners would wince with jealousy. His is the place of honour. A state-of-the-art treadmill keeps him in shape as Isabel herself is waited upon hand-and- foot in very sense, by her devoted butler Jaime (a very charismatic Roberto Suárez), who has cared for her for over a decade with astonishing patience and love. Her favourite spot is having a drink resting on her Lilo in the pool.
Maitina De Marco as Isabel and Roberto Suárez as Jaime
But Isabel is fussy and critical, tormenting Jaime with her relentless demands, to which he patiently acquiesces time and time again, one wonders how he puts up with it, but, in his own way, he deeply loves her and the life she provides for him.
When Isabel dies and it is revealed that the dog is to inherit her high-end luxury home for as long as the dog lives, with only Jaime to care for him, all manner of despair takes place, in particular from her estranged greedy, dishonest and incompetent son Carlos (played to perfection by Esteban Bigliardi), who promptly emerges from the woodwork at breakneck speed, dragging his teenage daughter Victoria (Cecilia Marani) with him.
There is no time for Jaime to mourn here!
Esteban Bigliardi as the avaricious Carlos
Initially, Carlos enjoys kicking the ex-lover (or gigolo as he likes to call him) out of the premises, until the will reveals he has to eat his words as Jaime has been bequeathed the right to remain in the mansion until such time that the dog dies of natural causes or an inevitable accident. Only then can the family inherit the house for themselves.
Cecilia Marani as Victoria
Unsurprisingly, Diego (Salvador Gaetán), Jaime’s annoying son, who has also been estranged, also rapidly emerges when he discovers his father is living in a comfort he hopes to share. With all the mayhem that breaks loose, Jaime’s ordered and carefully organized lifestyle is destroyed, for everyone is ruthlessly out for their piece of the cake.
Will they succeed?
The casting is spot on, and the scenario is terrifying as Jaime cannot come to terms with the pressures that the family are putting upon him. We are caught up in the dilemmas that he faces. Carlos tries to make deals with all and sundry that he clearly has no intention of respecting. Even his daughter rejects him outright. Behind all this Jaime tries to protect the dog aware at the same time that when all is said and done, his son rubs it in that he will not even have a spot to die in. Roberto Suárez as Jaime captures the ageing has-been handsome to perfection, creating an air of decadence that infuses every scene.
“... no tenés donde caerte muerto...”
Placed in the THRILL strand at the festival, we are kept on tenterhooks as to whether Jaime will be able to deal with his own demons as he mourns the loss of Isabel, which no one else does, and probably most of all, his lost life style, suffering silently unable to decide which was to turn. The avaricious Carlos is ruthless and makes promises to all that he cannot or would not keep, so we are on a treadmill ourselves, going ever faster as we are carried along. All the while enclosed in the ever-more claustrophobic existence in the mansion with its distinctive pool around which so much action takes place.
Jaime ( Roberto Suárez) keep winning with Prince without Isabel
It is labelled a comedy and it is a comic scenario, given that a dog is bequeathed a luxury estate, but everyone is so driven to grab what they can that it becomes is dark black humour at its best with the abominable nouveau-riche kitsch atmosphere of the home with its endless trophies and huge dog portrait, that act as a suitable backdrop to the dystopian family that invades these spaces.
Such an unpleasant lot of human beings hanging around this beautiful Afghan creature makes for a strange combination that Borgia pushes to the limit. The photography and colour grading are perfect as is the music and the effects. Diego fancies himself a rapper and pathetically practices as we cringe! The whole mise- en-scène is spot on.
This is Federico Borgia’s first solo outing having made films earlier with Guillermo Madeiro, and he promises a potential that should not disappoint. His previous co- directed films are Clever (2015) and The Champion of the World (2019). Clearly champions and winners are a recurring theme in his works.
Director Federico Borgia
This film reveals Borgia’s more individual style and ideas, drawing on his own personal experiences of having lived in Punta del Este himself. It is a beautiful and very popular Uruguayan seaside resort that has faded over time. Famous for being frequented by wealthy punters from Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil, there being a number of casinos there. Borgia has revealed that he has always had a childhood interest in the whole process of dog shows, the lives of the dogs that participate, as well as what these show animals can come to mean in people’s lives, such as Isabel and Jaime.
Do they fill a vacuum, do they create a purpose in life? It is fascinating to see what people will do to achieve that, to stave off other aspects of their own lives, be it loneliness, fears or just ageing.
‘PRINCE’ by FEDERICO BORGIA
WORLD PREMIERE AT THE ICA AS PART OF THE 70th BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL on October 8th
It will also be screened on October 9th at 13:30 at the BFI Southbank NFT3
Credits:
PRINCE (2026) written and directed by Fernando Borgia/ Producers: Isabel García / Pancho Magnou Arnábal / Co-producers: Daniel Werner / Federico Eibuszyc / DOP: Ramiro González Pampillón / Art Director: Gonzálo Delgado Galiana / Editor: Guillermo Madeiro/ Original score: Ismael Varela / Sound Director: Fernando Ribero / Production Designer: Florencia Chau/ Direct Sound: Rafael Álvarez / Sound Mixer: Sebastián González .
Cast:
Jaime: Roberto Suárez/ Isabel: Maitina De Marco / Carlos: Esteban Bigliardi / Victoria: Cecilia Marani/ Diego: Salvador Gaetán / Lucy: Majo Cal / Lawyer: Soledad Pelayo/ Mirta: Myriam Gleijer
