Elsa Berenguer Movies

A once-wealthy Buenos Aires socialite who has fallen on hard times finds the roles between herself and her longtime live-in maid suddenly reversed in director Jorge Gaggero's class-conscious drama. Mrs. Beba is a 58-year-old woman whose days as a well-to-do socialite have long since passed, and Dora is the 51-year-old housekeeper who has been Mrs. Beba's live-in housekeeper for 35 years. As a successive cycle of personal and financial crises force Mrs. Beba to sell door-to-door beauty products as a way of making ends meet, she finds it increasingly difficult to pay her employee in a timely manner. Since Dora has been using her money to construct a house in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, this naturally poses something of a problem. It's been six months since Dora has received her last paycheck, and her patience has finally run out. Yet, despite the fact that class differences continually come into play between the pair, there is no denying the bond that has formed between them over the course of their three decades together. When Mrs. Beba finally produces enough money to pay Dora's debt and offer a six-month salary advancement, Dora decides to finally strike out on her own despite her employer's objections. Later, after Dora moves into her new home with her weekend boyfriend, Miguel, Mrs. Beba's energy and telephone services are turned off for lack of payment. By the time summer arrives, Mrs. Beba must sell off her apartment just to stay out of debt. Remembering that her old employee has a new home, the now-homeless Mrs. Beba kindly offers to give her furniture to Dora. But Dora can't turn away an old friend in need, and before they know it, Dora and Mrs. Beba are living together once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Raphael Filippelli directed this documentary that offers an aficionado's look at the history of Argentinean tango -- both the dance and the music that accompanies it -- as experts discuss the great practitioners of the form and noted dancers and musicians offer perspectives on their own work. Deliberately focusing on tango's legacy rather than its present state (which Filippelli seems to consider a moot point), Notas de Tango explores tango from its birth through its greatest swell of popularity to the work of acclaimed composer Astor Piazzolla, who brought new and expressive life to the sound of tango. Notas de Tango was screened in competition at the 2001 Buneos Aires Independent Cinema Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In a puzzler of a drama set in 1978 with no visible story to tell, a journalist (Luis Brandoni) is perturbed when a neighbor knocks on his door to tell him that there are some strange men parked in a car across the street -- they seem to be watching the apartment building. The journalist tries to find out why the men are there, and although it has nothing to do with him, he panics. He packs a bag, takes off, cannot find any safe place to stay (one couple refuse to help him), and eventually decides to take a train out of town. Nothing much happens after that except a big question mark. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi