Un argentino en New York

"Un Argentino En New York" is a charming movie. It's a fish out of water story and, as such, succeeds very well.

The simple plot centers on a young Argentine girl, Vero, who goes to NY as an exchange student. The day she and her friends are supposed to return home, her divorced parents are left waiting at the airport. She doesn't show up and there is no explanation. Fearing the worst, her musician father makes arrangements to go to NY, find his daughter and bring her home.

Dad is from Buenos Aires, so he knows the ins and outs of big city life, but he can only manage a few simple phrases in English. Nevertheless, he manages to charm people everywhere he goes. There are some funny moments where cultural differences such as football/futbol or smoking in public, compound his problems. However, the movie stresses the things people have in common all over the world.

It's not an art film, nor is it intended to be. It's a simple charming warm story, well acted. "Un Argentino En New York" has a lot of heart. It's enjoyable to watch with your children or your parents.

Whoopie Goldberg and Woody Allen lookalikes make appearances.

I didn't see the movie expecting much, but I got really surprised. The cast is basically the same we see in Argentina in soap-operas, like Natalia, or "lunch-time" programs, like Guillermo. (The exception is the short appearance of "Wonderful Whoopi"). But I was very surprised because these actors put together, along with quite an original story, managed to make a very good movie.

With short spots of humor like any good American movie, and a unique style that was far away from our traditional kind of movies, a very sensitive approach on father-daughter relationships, having not the typical American "supercharacters" that can do anything, but real and vulnerable people, very well performed and not "overacted" like in "soaps", I must say that I was very surprised, for good, and enjoyed it very much. Very good for Natalia and Guillermo!

IMDb mark: 4

Have you ever wanted to see a latin 'telenovela' turned into a feature film? I know I didn't. But that is exactly what this is. It certainly seems that people who are good at one thing and attempt to do other things end up still doing the first thing. Let's just say that, so far, I haven't seen anything coming from Argentina that's not some sort of a soap opera.

-Cast: Natalia Oreiro is the most famous person in this movie, worldwide-wise. And get a load of Whoopi Goldberg as a waitress! 14/20

-Nudity: There is no nudity in this film. 0/20

-Ending: Think 'telenovela' ending; or soap-opera ending. If you're not familiar with any, it's meant to make women cry their eyes out. For this type of film, it's adequate. But still, I don't appreciate it too much. Of course, taste varies. 7/15

-Acting: Not bad, in my opinion. 8/11

-Plot: An Argentinian girl, about to turn 18, who leaves on a study trip to New York, decides to stay there. Her caring father goes after her to get her back before her mother can get too worried. 3/10

-Theme: Father knows best, very likely. But it's not a bad theme. 6/10

-Soundtrack: Didn't care too much for it. It's all Argentinian music, I think. Except when a bunch of people, including Whoopi, sing 'Killing Me Softly' in a restaurant, but that's not really part of the soundtrack. 3/10

-Genre: This is a drama. 1/4

-->Overall: 42/100

It's always interesting to see movies from other countries. But when I compare, let's say, 'Le gendarme a New York' with 'Un Argentino en New York', the French film wins hands down, even though it was made more than 30 years before this one. Maybe the Argentinians should have tried comedy, too. >From Swordlord, 1 sword down!