Arthur Schnitzler, the Austrian playwright, created a delightful theatrical play "La Ronde", in which all the characters are interconnected in mysterious ways. Thus, the last person whose story is explored in the plot, has a direct link with the first one, making the story a sort of merry-go-round which shows the strange ways we, as humans, are connected.
In this Argentine version, what starts at the bar "La Ronda", also ends there after the action has taken a tour of Buenos Aires showing us different situations in which a group of "Portenos" go about their lives in what appears to be a circle. The best of the vignettes, in our humble opinion is the one involving Monica, a lonely woman of a certain age, that spends her days inspecting apartments that she has no intention of buying, or renting. Monica becomes alive whenever she is shown a new dwelling without the owners. She loves to inspect their closets, the clothes they wear to fulfill her empty life.
Another story that works is the one involving Julia, an aspiring actress with no talent. Julia is a pretentious young woman that is trying to make it in whatever she can fit. A misunderstanding makes her accept the affection of a poor taxi driver, Luis, who, through confusing circumstances appears to be a painter. When Julia realizes her error, she sneaks out of his home and his life. Julia will get her due when she lands a part in a film, but she is fired because her own lack of talent.
Ines Braun, whose previous work we have not seen, had probably the Schnitzler prototype as a model of her modest film that we caught recently. The film written and directed by Ms. Braun, was co-written with Walter Jacob. The film, although flawed, shows some signs of a talent for creating people that are real. Basically the director offers her views on a social game most people play when looking to connect with others, sometimes without success. Lucio Bonelli, a great cinematographer is at hand to capture in excellent detail what Ms. Braun wanted.
We enjoyed the Monica of Mercedes Moran, an actress we have seen in other films. Ms. Moran gets under the skin of her lonely character. Rafael Spregelburd has some good moments as the uncomplicated man that is looking for love with the wrong crowd. Leonora Balcarce's Julia shows how some women will do anything to be with the right crowd, but who only pretends to be what she is not. Daniel Hendler, one of the most familiar faces of the Argentine cinema shows up in a cameo.
It will be interesting to see Ms. Braun's next project because she has a talent, as shown in her own version of a great classic.
In this Argentine version, what starts at the bar "La Ronda", also ends there after the action has taken a tour of Buenos Aires showing us different situations in which a group of "Portenos" go about their lives in what appears to be a circle. The best of the vignettes, in our humble opinion is the one involving Monica, a lonely woman of a certain age, that spends her days inspecting apartments that she has no intention of buying, or renting. Monica becomes alive whenever she is shown a new dwelling without the owners. She loves to inspect their closets, the clothes they wear to fulfill her empty life.
Another story that works is the one involving Julia, an aspiring actress with no talent. Julia is a pretentious young woman that is trying to make it in whatever she can fit. A misunderstanding makes her accept the affection of a poor taxi driver, Luis, who, through confusing circumstances appears to be a painter. When Julia realizes her error, she sneaks out of his home and his life. Julia will get her due when she lands a part in a film, but she is fired because her own lack of talent.
Ines Braun, whose previous work we have not seen, had probably the Schnitzler prototype as a model of her modest film that we caught recently. The film written and directed by Ms. Braun, was co-written with Walter Jacob. The film, although flawed, shows some signs of a talent for creating people that are real. Basically the director offers her views on a social game most people play when looking to connect with others, sometimes without success. Lucio Bonelli, a great cinematographer is at hand to capture in excellent detail what Ms. Braun wanted.
We enjoyed the Monica of Mercedes Moran, an actress we have seen in other films. Ms. Moran gets under the skin of her lonely character. Rafael Spregelburd has some good moments as the uncomplicated man that is looking for love with the wrong crowd. Leonora Balcarce's Julia shows how some women will do anything to be with the right crowd, but who only pretends to be what she is not. Daniel Hendler, one of the most familiar faces of the Argentine cinema shows up in a cameo.
It will be interesting to see Ms. Braun's next project because she has a talent, as shown in her own version of a great classic.
