Ulises Dumont Movies

Written and directed by Alex van Warmerdam, Grimm is an absurdist, decidedly black take on the Hansel and Gretel story. Set in modern day Holland, Grimm centers around siblings Marie (Halina Reijn) and Jacob (Jacob Derwig), who were sent to the forest under the pretext of gathering firewood while, unbeknownst to them, their impoverished family left for parts unknown. Before long, Marie and Jacob learn of their abandonment; all that is left from their parents is a brief note advising them to go to Spain and take up residence with their uncle. The first setback comes in the form of a smarmy farmer (Frank Lammers) who forces Jacob to have sex with his obese wife (Annet Malherbe). Shortly afterwards, Marie turns to prostitution, but Jacob intervenes before she goes too far. Eventually, the siblings find a moped and take off for Spain -- only to find out that their uncle has died. When a wealthy surgeon (Carmelo Gomez) falls for Marie, the broke siblings' prospects seem to be looking up once gain. Unfortunately for them, the ultimate consequence of Marie's quickie marriage is nothing either of them would have imagined. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Heated office politics boil quickly to the surface as a tobacco-loving employee make a desperate plea for a smoking room in this observant comedy from writer/directors Julio Wallovits and Roger Gual. Working his days away in a Spanish branch of a large U.S.-based company, salary-man Ramirez (Eduard Fernandez) is enraged when a no-smoking ordinance goes into effect, leaving him no place to light up while on the clock. Though his bid for nicotine bliss initially divides employees' loyalties based solely on the subject at hand, petty grievances soon erupt into all-out war concerning twisted office politics. With employees going back on their initial support for the smoking room and paranoia soon giving way to shifting loyalties, it seems that everyone has their own agenda when it comes the how the company is being run. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In 1980, Jorge (Ricardo Darin) is a serious fiction writer who meets Laura (Soledad Villamil), an aspiring young actress. The two fall in love, and although they emerge unscathed from Argentina's years of military dictatorship, their romance has more difficulty surviving Jorge's fear of commitment. Following their break up, Jorge finds himself falling into a moral and professional slump, and things only start to pick up when Laura reappears in his life. The film, which stretches over 20 years, was directed by Juan Jose Campanella, who returned to his native Argentina after many years spent in New York directing the likes of The Boy Who Cried Bitch and Love Walked In. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

A writer and political activist finds a new lease on life when he leaves the big city behind in this drama from Argentina. In 1978, Esteban (Claudio Gallardou) is a journalist covering political unrest in Buenos Aires stemming from Argentina's oppressive political dictatorship. After his reports earn him threats against his life, Esteban flees the city and heads for the mountains, eventually finding himself in the small village of La Paz in Bolivia. In La Paz, Esteban becomes friendly with a priest (Ulises Dumont), who gives him a place to stay and a new direction in life. He joins the fight against a local businessman currently bending the village's politics to his will, and finds another new reason for living when he meets Marina (Mirna Suarez), the priest's goddaughter. Cerca de la Frontera was shown in competition at the 2000 London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this Cuban-Argentine film, Argentine 40-year-old Laura (Susu Pecoraro), visiting Cuba for the first time on business, is divorcing her husband back in Buenos Aires. She's soon involved with smooth-talking cab driver Frank (Jorge Perugorria). Garment manufacturer Francisco (Ulises Dumont), having lost his wife, children, and home, has traveled to Cuba to kill himself, but Frank's mother (Veronica Lynn) realizes that Francisco is the teenage lover who got her pregnant. In other relationships, a gay couple (Luis Alberto Garcia and Humberto Paez) argue over whether or not to remain in the closet, and two documentary filmmakers (Jorge Martinez and Laura de la Uz) have career conflicts. Shown at the 1998 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Argentine director Alejando Agresti directed this surreal, allegorical Argentine-French-Dutch- Spanish comedy-drama. Winner of the "Golden Shell Grand Prize" at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival, the absurdist tale is set during the '70s. Young Buenos Aires cabdriver Soledad (Vera Fogwill), tired of fending off molesting passengers and dealing with her exploitative boss, keeps driving her cab straight out of the city and into the mountains, arriving at a remote and dusty Patagonian village, Rio Pico. The town's only contact with the outside world is a cinema which shows film reels out of sequence or upside-down -- as referenced in the title's reversal of Gone With the Wind. This has impacted on local inhabitants, causing them to speak in non sequiturs. Soledad checks into an inn run by Doña Maria (Angela Molina), and when locals find out she was a journalism student, they ask her to host their newsreels about life in Rio Pico. Her new job as news anchor leads to a romance with film critic Pedro (Fabian Vena). Doña Marie finds love blossoming when faded French film star Edgar Wexley (Jean Rochefort) arrives in town as a result of massive amounts of fan mail. Village scientist Antonio (Ulises Dumont) makes regular jaunts to Buenos Aires with his discoveries (such as the theory of relativity), only to be told these were previously discovered in earlier decades. Change comes to Rio Pico when electricity and television arrive, and the town's magical, idiosyncratic appeal begins to fade. Also shown at the 1998 Chicago Film Festival. Spanish and French dialogue. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This humanistic melodrama purports to be the first film from Argentina to deal with the effects of AIDS in a straightforward manner as it examines the psychological effects of the disease upon a well-to do heterosexual couple preparing to wed. It is Pablo who is diagnosed HIV-positive. Although he swears he has been faithful to his fiancee, the pregnant Mariana, she is devastated and breaks up with him. She does decide to keep the baby though. Pablo, finds himself increasingly despondent and unable to escape his depression until he discovers photography. His favorite subject becomes plain streets filled with working-class people. Meanwhile Mariana throws herself into her theatrical work, spending most of her time with her students. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After a lifetime of playing it safe, a married bank employee decides to ditch his previous life and embark on a career as a financial speculator and single man. At first his ex-wife has a difficult time of it, but she begins a business of her own which succeeds magnificently. The speculator's daughter has her own troubles, as she is being pursued by a man who appears to be simply an aging womanizer, though over time other facets of his character emerge. The self-liberated banker himself is having a high old time, enjoying risks (and a younger woman) in ways he couldn't have imagined before. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This was the first feature in 24-year-old Alejandro Agresti's career, and it is worthy of note if only because of the impossible conditions under which it was filmed. Agresti was followed around by Argentina's secret police while shooting this film. He then went to Holland where he found the money and support to finish his work. The story is about a vacillating writer named Ricardo (Elio Marchi) who is losing his battle with writer's block. While trying to jump the hurdles to his pen and paper, he meets a wide sprinkling of characters that help him or hinder him in one way or another. Most humorous is the woman who suggests that the Japanese should buy Argentina. That would allow Japan to expand its borders to a mainland area and Argentina could gain some islands (the country lost the war against the British for control of the Falklands). He also has some talks with his ex-wife's husband who reminds him that artists lead a precarious existence in Argentina -- many have been known to disappear. In the end, Ricardo's attitude benefits the most from all these contacts. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This stylized treatment of the life of celebrated Argentine tango singer and composer Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) is based on the play El Dia Que Me Quieras by Venezuelan playwright Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, who also wrote the screenplay. Gardel is a giant figure in his native country, where he is considered the man who put Argentine tango music "on the map." He worked in Hollywood and attained widespread popularity throughout Latin America. He died in an airplane crash on his way from Venezuela to Mexico. In the film, scenes from Gardel's life are interwoven and contrasted with moments from the life of Pio Miranda (Fausto Verdial), a Marxist revolutionary of the period. The film examines the process whereby real men are turned into heroic, mythical figures. Argentine actor Claudio Berge does an amazing job embodying the legendary Gardel. The film contains much of Gardel's music, which we hear in original recording lip-synced by Begre. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In 1985 the exquisitely-wrought Argentine comedy-drama King and his Movie earned international awards including the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for "First Film." It is the story of an obsessed filmmaker's attempts to make his long-dreamed of epic account of the King of Patagonia and Araraucania. Unfortunately, the director meets major obstacles at every turn. First of all, word leaked out to the press that the director, Chaves, was making his magnum opus and he must constantly dodge them while feverishly attempting to execute his preproduction tasks. His biggest headache comes from his search for the perfect actor to portray his king. When all of the professional auditions are rejected, Chaves turns to the street. Unfortunately, he chooses a street-dwelling hippie, who mistake Chaves and his assistants for cops and flees. He later shaves his head to help hide. Still the determined Chaves manages to catch up and convince him to play the part. Finally Chaves assembles cast and crew and prepares to go south to shoot the film. Unfortunately, his backer suddenly withdraws with all the film's finances and flees abroad leaving Chavez with no money with which to pay his production people. Many of the actors immediately abandon ship and once again Chaves hits the streets to find his players. He must also pare his crew down to the bare minimum. After an arduous journey, the group make it to the locale. By this time they are so broke that they cannot afford lodging and end up staying at an orphanage until an actor makes untoward advances towards a youngster and gets them booted out. About this time, the crew, not wanting to sleep in tents, take off. The cast joins them. Despite this final crushing blow, Chaves will not abandon the film and so portrays the king himself, using mannequins for extras to create some of the films most haunting and surreal scenes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide