Juan Minujin Movies

Crises of Argentina's past and present meet head on in this psychological drama, the first feature film from director and screenwriter Lucia Cedron. It's 2002, and Argentina is teetering on the verge of economic collapse when Arturo (Jorge Marrale), a successful ranch owner, is seized and held captive by kidnappers. The kidnappers contact Arturo's granddaughter Guillermina (Leonora Balcarce) and demand a large ransom in exchange for his safe return; however, the economic crisis has left him short on ready cash, and the family doesn't have enough money to make the payoff. Teresa (Mercedes Moran), Guillermina's mother, has left Argentina for France, but flies in to help her daughter in her time of need, though she seems uneasy about getting involved in the crisis at hand. Back in the Seventies, Teresa and her husband Paco (Juan Minujin) were part of a radical group trying to overthrow the military regime ruling Argentina, and she's been asked to testify about the abuses of the ruing junta as part of a public inquest. One of the few people with the money and power to help Guillermina is Gen. Alejandro (Horacio Pena), who has been friends with Arturo for years; he is willing to help pay the ransom, but under one condition -- that Teresa refuse to testify at the upcoming hearings. Cordero de Dios (aka Lamb Of God) received its world premiere at the 2008 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Argentinean filmmaker Daniel Burman writes and directs the ensemble film El Abrazo Partido (Lost Embrace), a follow-up to his 2000 feature Waiting for the Messiah. Daniel Hendler plays Ariel, a young man who lives in a Jewish working-class section of Buenos Aires. Since his father went missing in the war, his mother Sonia (Adriana Aizenberg) and brother Joseph (Sergio Boris) work in the shopping and business district. With no interest in school or work, Ariel hangs out and sleeps with Rita (Silvina Bosco). He finally gets the idea to move to Poland, so asks his grandmother (Rosita Londner), ex-girlfriend Estela (Melina Petriella), and Rabbi Benderson (Norman Erlich) for help. Meanwhile, a host of characters make up Ariel's multicultural neighborhood. Cesar Lerner provides the musical score. Lost Embrace won two Silver Bear awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide