argentinian films – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

PAULA (Melbourne IFF 2023) – Review by Nadine Whitney

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023 Nadine Whitney argentinian films, Daniela De Francesco, Florencia Wehbe, Lucia Castro, Melbourne IFF 2023, Paula, Virginia Shultess

Paula does a generally good job of explaining the insidious nature of eating disorders and how every aggression, micro and macro, fuels them. It isn’t just aggression that fuels eating disorders but also the community that awards thinness. Wehbe turns that community into a group of bloggers (and if you look into the internet there are many pro-anorexia sites), but it’s really the whole of society that does it. The film is didactic but necessary. Wehbe’s opening with the teenage girls on the first day of school is actually a pean to their burgeoning loveliness, it proves that they are beautiful despite acne or extra pounds.

Reviews

TRENQUE LAUQUEN – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

April 10, 2023April 15, 2023 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas argentinian films, Laura Citarella, Laura Paredes, luxbox, Trenque Lauquen

Two men, Rafael and Ezequiel, are searching for a woman. Her disappearance is low-key; not requiring police involvement, she appears to have left by her own choice, yet the men are left bewildered and drive around the Trenque Lauquen region just outside of Buenos Aires chasing up lead after thin lead. An unmissable cinema event, Trenque Lauquen is an extraordinarily confident film that speaks to our desire for solvable mysteries in a world full of people that are far more complex than simple deciphering permits.

Reviews

ARGENTINA, 1985 – Review by Jennifer Green

December 7, 2022December 11, 2022 Jennifer Green Alejandra Flechner, amazon prime, argentinian films, Julio César Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Mariano Llinás, oscars, Peter Lanzani, Ricardo Darín, Santiago Mitre, truth-based

Argentina’s nominee to this year’s International Feature Film Oscar, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, is an emotional tour-de-force, a film based on historical events whose dramatic tale is punctuated by both moments of humor and details of horrific human rights abuses that took place under that country’s military dictatorship and so-called “Dirty War,” between 1976 and 1983. The film is about the landmark trial that prosecuted the former president and military leaders for those abuses, ensuring democracy in Argentina

Reviews

LOST TIME (EL TIEMPO PERDIDO) – Review by Jennifer Green

July 28, 2022July 29, 2022 Jennifer Green argentinian films, documentaries, El Tiempo Perdido, In Search of Lost Time, Lost Time, Marcel Proust, Maria Alvarez

There’s something about aging that pushes people toward introspection. Maybe it’s knowing there’s more time behind you than ahead, or maybe it’s the sum of joys and losses added up over the course of a lifetime or the missed opportunities and regrets that nag at you. Whatever the inspiration, Marcel Proust captured the nostalgia and the vivid life of human memory in his 7-volume masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time, first published between 1913 and 1927. In the 2020 documentary Lost Time (El Tiempo Perdido), a group of elderly Argentinians meet regularly in a café to read and discuss Proust’s novel.

Reviews

OFFICIAL COMPETITION – Review by Diane Carson

June 20, 2022June 25, 2022 Diane Carson antonio banderas, argentinian films, Cate Marquis, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, motw, Movie of the Week, Official Competition, Oscar Martinez, penelope cruz, Spanish films

Official Competition goes behind-the-scenes with actors and a director. As Official Competition begins, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, multimillionaire Don Humberto Suarez asserts that he lacks prestige. Therefore, he must contribute to something lasting, a bridge with his name by a famous architect or a movie. For that latter option, he purchases the rights to the Nobel prize novel Rivalry, which he doesn’t read.

Movie of the Week Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 10, 2022: OFFICIAL COMPETITION

June 4, 2022July 16, 2022 Jennifer Merin antonio banderas, argentinian films, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Gastón Duprat, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Mariano Cohn, Marilyn Ferdinand., motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Official Competition, Oscar Martinez, Pam Grady, penelope cruz, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Spanish films

As long as there have been movies, there have been movies about making movies. Some are serious, some are silly; some are dark, some are light. One thing most have in common is that they always seem to bring those involved that particularly satisfying form of glee that comes from casting a critical light on something you have a complex relationship with. All of that is in play in Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat’s sharp showbiz satire Official Competition.

Reviews

OFFICIAL COMPETITION – Review by Liz Whittemore

May 31, 2022June 4, 2022 Liz Whittemore antonio banderas, argentinian films, Cate Marquis, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, motw, Movie of the Week, Official Competition, Oscar Martinez, penelope cruz, Spanish films

Turning a Nobel Prize-winning novel into a movie on the whim of a millionaire, “it” director Lola Cuevas pairs two different kinds of actors to breathe life into her version of the story. What could go wrong casting a serious leading actor with a box office action star? Only everything, of course. If you’ve ever been through the rehearsal process with a director that is secure in their vision, Official Competition is for you. The film is a masterclass in writing and acting. It encompasses all the temperamental moments in the history of cinematic genius.

Reviews

THE SHARKS – Review by Marina Antunes

April 23, 2020April 24, 2020 Marina Antunes 0 Comments antonella auistapache, argentinian films, lucia garibaldi, romina betancur, the sharks

Lucía Garibaldi’s first feature film is a leisurely told tale of desire that unfolds in the brink of summer and while I love a satisfying coming of age movie that captures the turbulent coming-of-age period of one’s life, I found The Sharks wanting for drama despite some memorable moments.