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Latin American cinema holds a privileged place at
the San Sebastian International Film Festival, an obligatory
rendezvous at which to discover the latest productions in these
countries. This year ten titles from six countries: Mexico,
Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina compete for the
Horizontes Award with its €18,000.
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LA VIDA
POR PERÓN (YOUR LIFE FOR PERON), Sergio Bellotti,
Argentina. |
| Everything happens
the day Peron dies. That same day, the father of a young
left-wing Peronist activist also passes away. Without him
being able to stop it, the funeral parlour becomes the centre
of a conspiracy by the movement to kidnap the President’s
body and replace it with his father’s corpse, intending
to impose left-wing discourse upon the most reactionary
military faction as the inheritance of Peronism. Latest
work by the director of the acclaimed Sudeste (Southeast).
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EL ATRACO,
Paolo Agazzi. Bolivia-Spain. |
| Bolivia. Late
80s. A truck full of money is assaulted mid-Andean altiplano.
The driver, cashier and guard are killed. The amount of
their haul surprises even the robbers. Inspired by a true
robbery that took place in Calamarca during the 70s, the
film is set around the corruption of power. A hard film,
with touches of noir humour starring Peruvian and Bolivian
actors alongside the Spanish actress Lucía Jiménez. |
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BUENOS
AIRES 100 KM. (BUENOS AIRES 100 KM.), Pablo José
Meza, Argentina-France. |
| Five 13 year-old
kids live in a village 100 kilometres from the capital.
They spend their days doing nothing, observing the village,
its inhabitants and their meanness. But a number of family
secrets gradually come to the surface, showing them the
harsh road from childhood into adolescence, the difficult
task of growing up in a world with neither privacy nor future.
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CRÓNICAS,
Sebastián Cordero. Ecuador-Mexico-Spain. |
| This new film
from the director of Ratas, ratones, rateros (Rodents) takes
us to a remote village where a child-killer is terrifying
the population. But, instead of a detective story, this
is an endeavour to demonstrate the mutual manipulation of
the murderer, Damián Alcázar, and a popular
Miami TV presenter played by John Leguizamo. Leonor Watling
plays the producer of the programme. |
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MALA
LECHE, León Errázuriz. Chile. |
| Friends Negro
Chico and Carita de Monkey have got a little problem with
the local gangster, El Yao. The thing is that the problem
isn’t quite so small as they both owe the Mafia boss
a fair amount of money and he’s threatened to kill
them if they don’t pay up by the deadline. Mala leche,
a harsh urban thriller with obvious tributes to Tarantino’s
cinema is one of the few Chilean movies shot this year.
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NO SOS
VOS, SOY YO (IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME), Juan Taratuto.
Argentina-Spain. |
| A tale of couples.
María and Javi love each other, deciding to get married
and start a new life in Miami. She leaves first, and he
stays to tie up their affairs. But life changes and new
loves cross their paths, wrecking their plans. A melodrama
veering towards comedy with final bitter-sweet overtones.
An excellent cast for a fast-moving, snappy and amusing
movie. |
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OTRA
VUELTA (ANOTHER TURN), Santiago Palavecino. Argentina. |
| A movie director
returns to his native city to shoot his first film based
on the tale written by a famous writer born in the same
place. On arrival he learns that one of his old friends
has committed suicide in strange circumstances. Gradually
the film gets caught up in an investigation into the last
days of the dead man’s life. Presented at Films in
Progress 4, September 2003. |
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O OUTRO
LADO DA RUA (THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET). Marcos Bernstein.
Brazil-France. |
| She is 65, lives
alone and is bored. She spends her time watching the neighbours
and reporting their wrongdoings to the police. He has just
lost his wife. She thinks he’s a murderer. But they
fall in love. Excellent portrayal of loneliness in the big
city with a sense of observation, humour and great sensitivity.
First movie by the screenwriter of Terra Estrangeira (Foreign
Land) and Central do Brasil (Central Station), this is a
modest homage to Kieslowski’s Krótki film o
milosci (A Short Film About Love), superbly starred by veterans
Fernanda Montenegro and Raul Cortez. |
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PARAPALOS
(PIN BOY). Ana Poliak. Argentina-Belgium. |
| Presented at Films
in Progress 5 (Toulouse, March 2004), this is the tale of
two people who live in the same house, but not together.
He works nights at a bowling alley, she works days at the
post office. They are cousins and share the same bed, but
never at the same time. Written with Santiago Loza, author
of Extraño (Strange), this minimalist movie is a
radical proposal taking a closer look at two unusual characters.
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PUEBLO
CHICO (LITTLE VILLAGE), Fernan Rudnik. Argentina. |
| Presented at Films
in Progress 4 (San Sebastian, September 2003), this is the
story of a small seaside town and the tranquillity of the
things that never change. Until the arrival of foreign investors
and their announced intention to bring progress. The mayor
and some of the inhabitants oppose the invasion and are
cut off from the outside world, but they resist, knowing
that it’s the only way not to disappear. |
San Sebastian, August 24 2004 |
