Oscar Martinez Movies

A man has to acclimate himself to the sweeping changes of 12 years of German unification literally overnight in this bittersweet comedy-drama. Martin Schultz (Jorg Schuttauf) was a citizen of East Germany when he was convicted of manslaughter in July of 1989. Martin is released in the year 2001, and he discovers the Berlin he knew is a thing of the past, with East and West Germans free to travel back and forth as they please, the dividing wall a thing of the past, and the city unfamiliar after over a decade of new construction. Martin tries to start his life over again with his former wife Manuela (Julia Jager) and son Rokko (Robin Becker), but they seem nearly as foreign as Berlin's new terrain, and Manuela's new lover advises Martin to keep his distance. Martin ends up taking a job at a pornography shop and falls into a life of petty crime with his co-worker Ludmila (Edita Malovcic). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Love and reincarnation are the basic themes of this metaphorical Argentine fantasy. It is a serpentine tale with many interesting surprises. The story begins in 1885 New Jersey, as Thomas Edison's assistant says his final good bye to his recently deceased wife. Suddenly a vibrating zoetrope is seen and dreamy images and titles fill the screen which suddenly bursts into the vibrant world of contemporary Buenos Aires where Leopoldo is working as a projectionist in a ramshackle cinema. Leopoldo is married to Susana. He is obsessed with devising a machine that will record human dreams, an aspiration he shares with his closest friend Oscar, who has invented a robot in the image of a famous tango singer Carlos Gardel. One day Leopoldo awakens to discover that he has successfully recorded that night's dream in which he felt great love for a woman who lived 110 years ago. Shortly thereafter, he sees the very same woman standing outside his theater. Her name is Rachel and she calls him William. She explains that they have been lovers throughout the ages and have been reincarnated many times. Unfortunately, Leopoldo has no memory of her. Still they become lovers. The two come to a difficult juncture when Rachel decides that she has had enough reincarnation and simply wants to stay dead; on the other hand, Leopoldo is terrified of death and yet does not want to be forever apart from her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Juan has been haunted by memories of his family's southern ranch for a long time but has not found any good reasons to revisit it for many years now. It was a favorite place in his childhood. Recently, he has had dreams in which he is stabbed to death there. When he falls and receives some serious head injuries, his doctors perform surgery on him and then tell him to take a long rest. This is just the excuse he needs to visit the ranch, and he heads south to encounter whatever fate awaits him there. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this political thriller, the disappearance in Argentina of a girl with dual Swedish/Argentine nationality is explored. The girl's probable extra-judicial murder by Argentina's military rulership is investigated by a Swedish journalist, whose efforts expose the widespread abduction and murder of supposed opponents of the military regime. As the reporter pursues his leads, he is being actively thwarted by agents of military intelligence, who would have no qualms about murdering his witnesses or even the reporter himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A crusading young priest sparks religious fervor in a group of youths. ~ John Bush, Rovi

The joropo (pronounced "hoh-roh-poh") is a lively folkloric dance that ties Venezuelans to their heritage and so this drama about the "king" of the joropo -- Alfredo Alvarado (playing himself) -- and his many peccadillos would be especially appealing to national viewers. Foreign audiences might not be quite as mesmerized. Well-known Venezuelan actors have other lead roles and the story, in fact, revolves around a television show dedicated to Alvarado's controversial life. Alvarado wants to tell the truth as he sees it, but the TV executives want to embellish his truth with spicier, more violent anecdotes. This push and pull between real life and reel life, especially with the subject playing himself, is a good premise that somehow gets a little shortchanged in the telling. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi