A man is obsessed with John Travolta's disco dancing character from Saturday Night Fever (1977).
Raúl, a middle-aged, unemployed man, is obsessed by the character Tony Manero, who John Travolta plays in the film "Saturday Night Fever". He tries to imitate Travolta's impersonation in every detail, to be able to perform the most perfect Tony Manero himself. Raúl lives in a shabby house in Santiago. In a spacious room the landlady Wilma has a simple stage, where Raúl and some other tenants rehearse a show in Tony Moreno style. The young performers Goyo and Pauli are involved in underground activities against the Pinochet regime. Goyo gives some political flyers to a man. Raúl tails the man, and happens to see the secret police shooting him. After a while Raúl returns to the corpse, and steals the man's wristwatch. He goes to a junk dealer, where he swaps the watch for some thick glass bricks. He needs these for the stage floor, to be able to light up the show from beneath, just as in the film. In need of more glass bricks, he kills the junk dealer and steals the bricks. In his new Tony Moreno dress Raúl is on his way to a look-alike contest in TV Chile, when the secret police enters the house to arrest Pauli and other political suspects. Raúl succeeds to sneak away over the roof, and continues to the TV studio.—Maths Jesperson {[email protected]}
Santiago de Chile, 1978.
In the midst of the tough social context of Pinochets dictatorship, Raúl Peralta, a man in his fifties, is obsessed with the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travoltas character in Saturday Night Fever.
Raúl leads a small group of dancers regularly performing at a bar located in the outskirts of the city. Every Saturday evening, he unleashes his passion for the films music by imitating his idol. His dream of being recognized as a successful showbiz star is about to become a reality when the national television announces a Tony Manero impersonating contest. His urge to reproduce his idols likeness drives him to commit a series of crimes and thefts.
In the meantime, his dancing partners, who are involved in underground activities against the regime, are persecuted by the governments secret police.
Tony Manero is a story about loss of identity and obsession in the recent Chilean history.