Wallflower Tango

Wallflower Tango is a short film about a burglar who tries to steal a diamond from a woman. It was created by Wolfram Kampffmeyer as his graduation project at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and features two main characters, internal and external conflicts, and a focus on choreography, dance and relationships.

Special importance is placed on the use of an object, a diamond, that serves as a trigger for a conflict that transforms into choreography and dance. Music is used intensively in Wallflower Tango, switching playfully between diegetic and non-diegetic modes, its pace followed by visual rhythm. Sound has a high index of materiality, helping bring a sense of realism to the short.

There’s good effort dedicated to aesthetics, especially lighting, and in recreating the urban environments of the tango dancing place (milonga) and the apartment. Also worth noting are the stylized staging, the accent on sensuality and sensory images (no words are spoken, which is in line with the dancing), the hard work dedicated to the choreography, and the way the evolving relationship is interrupted when the burglar has to escape, leaving the audience in suspense until the next scene.