Juan Cruz Bordeu Movies
Venerable Argentinian filmmaker Alejandro Agresti turns his lens to his own childhood in this nostalgic coming-of-age tale. Set in the director's hometown of Buenos Aires circa 1964, Valentin centers around its title character (and ostensible stand-in for the director), a nine-year-old boy (Rodrigo Noya) whose feuding parents have left him to be raised by his sage, eccentric grandmother (Carmen Maura). With his father (Agresti) visiting only occasionally, Valentin is left to look to the other men in the neighborhood for father figures, and to replace his absent mother, he warms to Leticia (Julieta Cardinali), one of his father's many short-term girlfriends. When he tells her personal secrets about his father, however, Valentin jeopardizes their relationship. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rodrigo Noya, Carmen Maura, (more)
Two families try to make the best of a bad situation as they suffer through a crippling heat wave in this neo-realistic drama, featuring a primarily non-professional cast. Tali (Mercedes Moran) is minding four small children with little help from her husband, who is preoccupied with the opening of hunting season, as a record hot spell grips Argentina. Things aren't much better for her cousin Mecha (Graciela Borges), who is looking after four teenagers and a husband (Martin Adjemian) who can hardly be bothered to help out, but Mecha does have a pool, even if it hasn't been cleaned in quite a while. Tali and her brood end up spending much of the summer with Mecha as the town is riveted by the appearance of the Virgin Carmen on the city's water tower, and a series of thunderstorms add an awful humidity to the summer's unbearable heat. While seemingly improvised, La Cienaga was actually carefully scripted by Lucrecia Martel, who won a screenwriting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival prior to making her directorial debut with this feature. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Graciela Borges, Martin Adjemian, (more)
- 1994
The turmoil between a daughter and her dying father provides the focus of this drama set in Argentina during the turbulent 50's. The family are Sicilian immigrants, and the father, Francesco rules in the traditional way with the women silently doing his bidding. Laura, his daughter, does not fit the traditional mold. She fights back. As her father slowly wastes away with tuberculosis, the relationship between the two becomes more confrontational. Laura has relationships outside the family. She talks politics with her communist friend Dora, and her lover is a politically active lawyer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Massimo Dapporto, Alessandra Acciai, (more)
- 1993
In his retirement home, the former bartender (Pepe Soriano) at a brothel and bistro in a provincial town in Argentina in the 1930s regales his listeners with tales about the personalities there. Chief among them was the brothel's owner (Gian Maria Volonte), who seemed the master of all he surveyed, until he was smitten by the charms of a woman traveling with a tango band. As he tells these stories, they are shown onscreen. The film is much enhanced by lively tango performances by well known masters of the genre, including (Daniel Binelli). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gian Maria Volontè, Graciela Borges, (more)
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