Puzzle (Wednesday, May 11, 2011) (30)

Maria del Carmen (Maria Onetto) is a soft-spoken, middle-aged, middle-class, Argentine housewife with a very loving auto-mechanic husband, Juan (Gabriel Goity) and two high school sons. She leads a common, uncomplicated life where she cleans the house, goes shopping, cooks and keeps everyone in line. On her birthday she's given a jigsaw puzzle by a friend and discovers that she can complete it herself in a very short time. She goes to a puzzle store to buy more and sees a sign for a man who needs a partner for a puzzle competition.

Her husband doesn't approve of her wasting time on puzzles, and in an act of defiance, she seeks out this man, Roberto (Arturo Goetz). Together the two practice to improve her puzzle-solving system (organize by colors and shapes, spread out the pieces, one partner works on the boarder while the other works on the interior) and speed. As she's doing this, she's discovering her sense of self and letting some of her daily jobs fall by the wayside. She has to figure out how to do what she now loves and is good at while keeping a steady ship at home.

Like many Argentine films from the so-called Argentine New Wave, this is a very simple story with a limited context. Sure, there is a Feminist and Marxist subtext to the narrative (Maria is upset that she doesn't really have agency in her own life and she struggles with her job as a worker in the household), but at the end of the day, it's a small kitchen-sink drama without many branches. I like the smallness of it a lot - reminiscent of the house-wife parts of Charlene Ackerman's film Jeanne Dielman. The story only alludes to greater battles in the world, but is just a small story with a beginning, middle and end.

Also similar to other Argintine New Wave films I've seen, there is an examination of social class that is suggested, but not really fought over. Clearly Maria is uncomfortable in Roberto's fancy Palermo townhouse, her life doesn't have things like spare puzzle-solving rooms or a maid to cook and clean. There is no anger in this realization from Maria (or Smirnoff), but just a constant idea that the two teammates come from very different places.

Not only does writer-director Natalia Smirnoff do a nice job with the script, but she is talented in a technical sense as well. Much of the film is shot with handheld cameras, most of it either in close-ups or 2-shots (there are very few establishing shots to speak of). Much of what we see is out of focus or somewhat limited in focus. This all leads to a very intimate, cozy environment. It also ties in the "puzzle" theme well, as we frequently see small parts of bigger things and can't tell exactly what we're looking at - a metaphor for how Maria sees the pieces of the puzzles.

One shot is particularly elegant where you see Maria on the phone in her kitchen in focus. She walks to the back of the room and out a door there and out of focus before coming back in the room and back into focus. The effect with this long-lens shot is the same as a rack focus, but there's no movement in the camera or the lens, it's all with the actress.

Smirnoff does a very similar "puzzle" thing with the score, which is not one piece of music, but several pieces from different musical traditions. In one moment we hear African percussion, in another a Jew's harp, in another a Japanese flute. Again, the idea is that she's thinking of these different styles as she works on the puzzles and that they make up a texture and a tapestry of sound, like how pieces make up a puzzle. It's entirely possible that this is the soundtrack going through Maria's head as she is inspired by one puzzle picture or another.

This is not an incredibly deep film. It really only glances at big issues of "a woman's work" and "self-determination in the household". It knows how big it is and doesn't try to be too preachy. This is a very nice, well-made movie. It's a bit precious, but more for its subject (about middle-aged people doing puzzles) than it's style or technique.

Stars: 3 of 4

The Secret in their Eyes (Sunday, April 25, 2010) (33)

I was curious to see this film because it won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film, beating out The White Ribbon and A Prophet, two movies that I either liked or loved. Last year the Oscar winner, Departures, was a very safe and sweet movie, but not even close to the brilliance of The Class, Revanche or Waltz with Bashir, three other films that were nominated and were superior to the victor.

And once again, the Academy picked the safe, easy, boring movie over two more interesting, difficult pieces.

This film is basically a Hollywood-style murder mystery with an Argentine accent. Benjamin Esposito is a retired lawyer who was a long-time clerk and assistant to a federal judge in Buenos Aires. He is now working on a novelization of an old case that has haunted him since he first investigated it 20 years before. At that time, a woman was brutally murdered while her husband was at work. Over the course of the investigation, Esposito found an old flame of the woman who he thought was the probable murder. The man was not convicted and then went missing.

Part of the story he constructs in his book involves Irene Menéndez Hastings, a young judge investigator (sorry, I don't totally understand the Argentine judicial system to know who does what) who worked with Esposito at the time of the murder. He was in love with her, but she had a husband and dating her was out of the question. As he finishes his novel, he reconnects with Hastings and falls back in love with her. He then goes off to see if he can finish the investigation and find out who really killed that woman so many years ago.

There is nothing particularly interesting or fresh about this story. It could have easily been written by John Grisham or the like. Director Juan José Campanella, a veteran of American television like House and Law and Order: SVU seems to borrow heavily from his small screen work. The characters are quickly sketched out with only a bit of depth and the story is rather simple - even considering its long, 127-minute run-time.

The best thing about the film is the performance of Ricardo Darin as Esposito. Darin, who was recently in the beautiful and brilliant XXY, is a natural talent - reminiscent of George Clooney and Javier Bardem. He oozes charisma and familiarity - as if he was your favorite next-door neighbor. The character is not all that special - but Darin makes him kind, lovable and sympathetic.

There is nothing really bad about this film other than the fact that it feels mostly recycled. What is great about contemporary Argentine cinema is the freshness and smallness of the stories. The movies deal with very matter-of-fact and frank stories on the ground. There is nothing all that fabulous or special about the stories - other than the fact that they are totally honest. This film seems much more over-constructed and complicated than any other recent Argentine effort. Much like how Tell No One was a failure of a French film because French filmmakers don't make Hollywood movies, this is a mess of an Argentine film for the same reason. Campanella has spent too much time making American TV shows and should return to his homeland for further study.

Stars: 2 of 4

The Empty Nest (Saturday, December 26, 2009) (210)

This is a short, simple Argentine film written and directed by Daniel Burman. In it playwright Leonardo sketches out the plot of a new play that is a fantasy of his own future life. He imagines ahead 10-or-so years when his three kids will be out of the house and he and his wife will be left alone. He sees that they might have affairs and might try to stick together. All of this is done within the safe confines of his 'full nest' - his warm home's living room.

It is a very sweet drama, one that is mostly focused on very nice story-telling. Burman does a great job giving a rather mundane story in a way that keeps us interested throughout. Lead actor Oscar Martinez does a wonderful job as a doting father, a loving husband and a reliable man to all of those in his life.

This is not a particularly deep or important film, but it is totally enjoyable and easy to watch. It fits in well with a new tradition in Argentine cinema of every-day stories told well and straightforwardly.

Stars: 3 of 4

The Headless Woman (Friday, December, 25, 2009) (208)

The Headless Woman is an Argentine film about a woman who gets into a small car accident when she hits a dog on a quiet country road. She seems to suffer a concussion and is a bit out of it for several days. Her family seems unaware of her situation, not even realizing that the incident has left her nearly mute and aloof. She tries to go back to the scene of the incident, thinking she hit more than just the dog, but is unable to find any more clues as to what happened to her.

Typical of many Argentine and South American films of recent years, class issues and what seems to be an upper-middle-class guilt pervades the story. Neither the woman nor any of her friends and family are lacking anything they want or need. They drive beautiful cars and live in posh houses with large, healthy families. The woman is faced with her high level when she goes to a town near the accident to ask for any clues about the crash. There she sees people living modestly without all the excess that she enjoys.

Clearly writer/director Lucrecia Martel is making a point that this woman can totally change and be barely verbal, but her life is structured in a way that few people around her are aware that anything is out of the ordinary. The woman lives in a place where despite the fact that she is a modern woman with hobbies and interests, few ask her opinion on things - or if they do, others will step in to answer for her. This detachment seems to be the center of the film and is the most interesting part of it.

Generally the film is too elliptical and rather frustrating. We do not know enough about the woman before her accident to know how she was then (was she not talkative then, so it's not a big change after the accident? Were her friends and family distant and did they never ask her any questions?). Nothing really comes together in the end. It feels like half a story, or just the beginning of one. I think this would have been an interesting opening to a larger story, but we never get more substance.

Stars: 1.5 of 4

The Window (Wednesdaty, October 7, 2009) (140)

This is a very small and lovely Argentine film about an old man in the last days of his life who is bed-ridden in his country home. He is pre-occupied with the imminent visit of his estranged son, a concert pianist working in Europe. After gazing out the window at the beautiful day, he escapes his servants to go for a walk on his land. By the time his son arrives, his energy is nearly entirely spent and they can barely communicate before he passes away.

This poetic story is much more atmospheric, almost impressionistic, than narrative. The characters are beautifully sketched, but few details are given to us. The man is rich and formerly rather powerful, however the loss of his wife and the illness he is succumbing to have sapped his will. Still, he is proud and does not want to be seen as a helpless invalid in his son's eyes. Actor Antonio Larreta does a beautiful job in this role. The son is aloof and clearly had a falling-out with his father. He's somewhat caring, but distant. His lady friend is uncompromising and difficult and icy and unloving. It's actually very nice to have these schematic portraits of the characters rather than thick histories of each.

The film is very light and pure with a concentration on the texture and atmosphere of the house and surrounding areas. The decay of the once-grand estate is echoed by the man's worsening condition. This naturalism is underlined when the son and his girlfriend arrive with their mobile phones and modern ways.

There is not much story in the film, but it is beautiful and worth the 88 minutes it takes to watch.

Stars: 3 of 4