21 Days of Spooky: Yesterday's Guys Used No Arsenic (José Martínez Suárez, 1976)

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21 Days of Spooky is not about pop culture that sets out to fright you with brain-eating, viscerae-hanging, slash-killing scenes, but with thoughts that linger and persist on your life long after you've watched them. Or are just downright creepy. Tonight's spooky: José Martínez Suárez's Yesterday's Guys Used No Arsenic. Some spoilers ahead.

What's it about?: A retired actress lives in a big, secluded countryside estate with her husband, former manager, and former doctor. Her already crumbling relationship with the guys turns sour after she decides to sell the estate and brings in a young woman to assist her in the sale.

If there's an Argentinian film I'm truly proud of, it is most definitely this one. A black comedy that gathers some of my country's greatest actors and directors (who happen to act on this one instead of their regular gig), which is not only funny, but presents a very interesting outlook on fame, resentment, and life after retirement. Of course, in traditional Argentinian fashion, it was sent to represent us at the 1976 Oscars but it didn't qualify, I'm assuming it was because it was too subtle for the Academy's taste.

The key to this film is Mara (Mecha Ortiz), an elderly woman who was once a huge actress, to the point in where she made a boatload of money and was able to purchase a huge estate in the countryside for her and her husband to live in. Unfortunately for her, the husband would be quite lonely without his friends, and that's how the vast land gets also inhabited by the now retired manager and personal doctor of Mara. For those counting at home, it's now three men and one woman living there. Mara is quite the peculiar lady herself, rewatching clips of her performances of yore and longing to return to the spotlight.

What halts a possible return to film glory? Well, you see, Mara's trio of cranks are quite content where they are, and even happier to dunk on her self-esteem, telling her she's gotten old, ugly, frail, and a whole slew of subtleties she either ignores or pretends to ignore. Argentinian showbiz is also quite shitty in real life, discarding actors/actresses once they pass their prime to the point of making them land in poverty, which means Mara's big estate is now a money pit, and she hates the country anyways, so why not selling?

And here's the kicker: we're supposed to root for the trio of cranks. We see them in their everyday activities, like playing bochas, be sarcastic to each other, and have philosophical discussions about random shit (but usually it's hating on Mara). The three elderly dudes are leeches who have lived their whole lives comfortably off Mara's back, and yet she's the villain, the evil monster who wants them to stop treating her like trash and do horrible things like fixing all the broken shit in the house and, oh I don't know, sell that busted mansion that's crumbling down and will be left to no one after the four die.

Resentment fuels the trio, as they've always lived in Mara's shadow, and she knows that. But, when actually trying to implement a change that would make them live on their own, get out of what she feels is a toxic environment, the guys have festered so long in their resentment that they don't want to let go, thus holding up a bigger grudge. She has lived under their control her whole life, and when she wants to make one decision for herself, she's faced with pushback, and jokes on how she doesn't have the balls to actually make a sale.

But, you see, she does have the balls, as one day Laura (Bárbara Mujica), a broker, arrives at the estate. She loves the land and thinks it would make a quick sale... provided that Mara and the douche trio leave the property. As you can imagine, she's told to fuck off by the guys. But Laura is not Mara. She's young, smart, quick-tongued, and has the perk of never having been manipulated by the gruesome threesome. She reminds them that Mara's name is on everything and, if they don't want to go, she'll still find a buyer and they will be ousted by force. Laura sees right through them: they are a band of leeches.

The film masterfully plays with us as the guys' sarcastic thoughts gradually turn sour with Laura's arrival. The young woman empowers Mara, pulls her away from the toxic shadow, and gives the trio a deadline to GTFO. And, like every person fueled by resentment and entitlement, they reach a conclusion: Mara and Laura must die, so we can keep the land and continue being pieces of shit. We're no longer rooting for them at that point, and we're reminded that we've been cheering for the success of people who've been coasting of another person's success. We had been manipulated by their cranky facade as Mara had.

Tomorrow: Darren Aronofsky's mother! reminds us that the sink is not yet braced.