Puzzle (2010)

A woman looking for a new purpose in her life finds it in an unexpected place in this comedy drama from Argentina. María del Carmen (María Onetto) is not enjoying her 50th birthday party, in large part because she had to do all the work herself -- her workaholic husband, Juan (Gabriel Goity), loves her but doesn't pay much attention to her, while her two children, Ivan (Julian Doregger) and Juan Pablo (Felipe Villanueva), are old enough to be taking care of themselves and busy with their own lives. María's family did bother to get her a present, a jigsaw puzzle, and as she puts it together she's reminded of how much she enjoys assembling puzzles -- and she's quite good at it. While shopping the next day, María sees a flyer from someone looking for a partner for an upcoming jigsaw puzzle tournament, and she volunteers. The puzzle enthusiast turns out to be a well-to-do bachelor named Roberto (Arturo Goetz), who is impressed with María's skills; telling Juan she's visiting an ailing relative, María moves into a spare room in Roberto's mansion for a couple weeks, and they begin training in earnest for the upcoming jigsaw championships. As María embraces her renewed passion for puzzles, Roberto introduces her to a more adventurous side of life that she'd all but forgotten. Rompecabezas (aka Puzzle) was the first feature film from writer and director Natalia Smirnoff. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi