International Cinema : [Last Film I Watch] Intimate Stories (2002) by Carlos Sorin


English Title: Intimate Stories
Original Title: Historias mÃ­nimas
Year: 2002
Country: Argentina, Spain
Language: Spanish
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Carlos Sorin
Writer: Pablo Solarz
Music: NicolÃ¡s Sorin
Cinematography: Hugo Colace
Javier Lombardo
Antonio Benedicti
Javiera Bravo
Julia Solomonoff
Laura Vagnoni
Enrique Otranto
AnÃ­bal Maldonado
Mariela DÃ­az
Carlos Montero
Rating: 7.2/10

INTIMATE STORIES heralds an auspicious comeback for Argentinian director Carlos Sorin after his decade-long absence, it is his third feature film overall where his previous work is a UK-Argentina co-production, Daniel Day-Lewis vehicle EVERSMILE, NEW JERSEY, way back in 1989.

The multi-threads story unwinds from a provincial area near the Puerto San Julian in the sparsely populated area of Patagonia, Argentina. Adhering to the road-movie formula and committing faithfully under the cinÃ©ma-vÃ©ritÃ© guidance, Sorinâ€™s movie is a quest for love, money and forgiveness, allotted to three major storylines which share the same destination, San Julian.

Don Justo (Benedicti), an old man looking for his dog, Roberto (Lombardo, a professional actor among the amateurs), a loquacious salesman, brings a birthday cake to a child he has never met, only to surprise the woman he tries to court, and Maria (Bravo), a young married woman, who is lucky enough to be chosen by a TV show to participate in a competition for prizes, hopefully, an all-inclusive one-week trip to Brazil or a food processor. There will be little twists in all these three vignettes: Mariaâ€™s prize-swapping decision; the reason why Justo lost his dog or in his perspective - the dog left him three years ago; the whimsical attempt of Roberto to make the cake unisex, when he realises he doesnâ€™t know the sex of the the birthday child, but there will be another surprise for him. Nothing groundbreaking but thanks to Sorinâ€™s unpretentious, beguilingly spontaneous approach, and writer Solarz's keen observation and rumination of common people in their daily hustle-bustle, the philosophy of life is being unhurriedly injected into this lyrical travelogue, which evolves into a wry and affirmative ethnographic essay of the area, plus, the arid landscape of Patagonia itself is presented as a striking character.

Meantime, Justo, Roberto and Maria, their life orbits also have their respective convergence, sometimes, they just pass by without noticing each otherâ€™s presences, sometimes they share a short stint of journey, the connection is always there, regardless of our subjective perception. Performance-wise, Lombardo feels over-stretching among non-professionals who are basically playing themselves with a detailed script, and surprisingly Antonio Benedicti, a sympathetic grandfather figure, brings astonishing gravitas in his film debut, his search for the dog â€œugly faceâ€ is where lies the heart and strength of this humble but scintillating film. My Diva Trinity: Dench, Moore and Blanchett