Tango Libre

In prison, the dance is shown almost as a battle for primacy. As the display segues to regular lessons that swiftly gain in popularity, the prisoners learn that the tango represents seduction and surrender, pain and anger, frailty, grace and freedom – all of which resonate with men facing long periods behind bars.

In Belgian director Frédéric Fonteyne’s film Tango Libre Mariano ‘Chicho’ Frumboli plays the ringleader of the prison’s tough Argentinean inmates who is asked by the central male character to teach him tango after realizing its physical and emotional importance to his free-spirited wife.