The Bitter Stems

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The Bitter Stems
The Bitter Stems poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Fernando Ayala
Written by Sergio Leonardo
Based onLos Tallos Amargos
by Adolfo Jasca
Starring Carlos Cores
Julia Sandoval
Gilda Lousek
Vassili Lambrinos
Pablo Moret
Cinematography Ricardo Younis
Edited by Gerardo Rinaldi
Antonio Ripoll
Music by Astor Piazzolla
Production
company
Artistas Argentinos Asociados
Release date
  • 1956 (1956)
Running time
90 minutes [1]
CountryArgentina
LanguageSpanish

The Bitter Stems (Spanish: Los Tallos Amargos) is a 1956 Argentine film noir directed by Fernando Ayala. It is considered one of the last films of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema. The screenplay, written by Sergio Leonardo, is based on the novel Los Tallos Amargos by Adolfo Jasca. The film's music was composed by Astor Piazzolla.

Contents

The film was considered lost until it turned up in a private collection in 2014. A 35mm version was subsequently restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with funding provided by the Film Noir Foundation and Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Charitable Trust, [2] and premiered in January 2016 at the Noir City Film Festival, [3] before playing in February 2016 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. [1] When the film played at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood later that year, the presenter noted that while the 35mm negative was rediscovered, the soundtrack remained lost, so the restoration used the track from the director's 16mm print.

Premise

A washed up reporter teams up with an immigrant from Hungary to start a fake journalism by correspondence school.

Cast

Awards

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
1957 Argentine Film Critics Association Best Film The Bitter StemsWon [4]
Best Director Fernando Ayala Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Sergio Leonardo Won

Legacy

The American Cinematographer named The Bitter Stems one of the “50 Best Photographed Films of All-Time”. [1]

In 2022, the film was ranked 42nd on the list of the 100 Greatest Films of Argentine Cinema, a poll organized by specialized magazines La vida útil, Taipei and La tierra quema, and presented at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. [5]

Home media

The Bitter Stems was released on Blu-ray by Flicker Alley in 2021. [6]

In February 2025, the film was released on The Criterion Channel. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Los Tallos Amargos (The Bitter Stems). 1956. Directed by Fernando Ayala". MoMA. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. "Los Tallos Amargos". TCM Classic Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  3. "Program - NOIR CITY Film Festival - January 22-31, 2016". Noir City. Archived from the original on 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  4. "Argentine Film Critics Association Awards (1957)". MUBI. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  5. "Top 100" (in Spanish). Encuesta de cine argentino 2022. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  6. "The Bitter Stems (Los Tallos Amargos)". Flicker Alley. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  7. "The Criterion Channel's February 2025 Lineup". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2025-08-21.