Historias mínimas

Three people set off on different journeys through Patagonia to the distant town of San Julian. There's an old man with failing eyesight hitchhiking to find his lost dog Badface, an obsessive traveling salesman trying to win a young widow with a birthday cake for his son which he keeps changing to make more perfect, and a simple impoverished woman traveling to find out if she can bring home a prize from a television game show. The minutely observed characters, mostly non-professional actors, are endearing, honest and fascinating with their Argentinean reserve and kindness that bridge the vast Patagonian landscape. Probably the weirdest road movie since the Straight Story and with a feelgood factor that is genuine and unpretentious. It tells of the importance of small events in lives very removed from our own.

I respect films that are not intended to be masterpieces. I consider pretentiousness to be the worst sin of all; but this is not the case. We face a small, charming film in which tiny stories are told about small town heroes. These stories are told in such a crafty, elaborate and detailed way that the audience gives in to emotion at once. The old man (Don Justo) giving a praise- worthy performance, the beautiful landscapes of the Patagonia, the slow paced life of people in these arid regions: they all sum up to render a lovely film concerning lovely people. There´s laughter and tears involved. Wim Wenders loved it, I loved it, maybe you should give it a chance. It will not change your life, but it will certainly make you feel warm,least for an hour and a half.

In few films the title fits the content so well: Minimal Stories is exactly about that, small stories in which practically nothing that happens takes place outside the people who live them, tiny pieces of their lives where everything that occurs could be told in two or three lines. This movie is not about important events, nothing that could be called big. It is precisely that: a story of the small. The people that appear in it live in a village in South Patagonia surrounded by impressive extensions of flat land, of dust and nothing, as if to sharpen the feeling that nothing being told can be shot by the camera. To me, this is a merit of the film: to make me feel the camera is placed inside the people I see instead of outside. What it comes to show is the wonderful picture of the loneliness of the landscape impressed on them.

The movie can be seen as a road-movie in the loneliness of the province of Santa Cruz, in South Patagonia.

Each one of the three chief characters, with different kinds of loneliness, look for a light in their future: María, a very poor woman living in an abandoned railway station, is selected for take part in a TV prize program; Don Justo, an old man, looks for his dog lost years ago; Roberto, a road seller of goods, tries to gain the love of a young widow customer. Three simple stories that touch the heart of people because their emotiveness and humor.

This is the second movie of Carlos Sorin in the windy and desert Patagonia ("La Pelicula del Rey" was the former one).

Historias mínimas (2002), directed by Carlos Sorin, was shown at Rochester's Dryden Theatre as "Intimate Histories." This film is a small, excellent road movie.

The road is a well-paved but barren stretch of highway between a small village in Patagonia and a larger city. Four people are traveling this road--a young mother with her infant son, an older man, and a traveling salesman. The young mother is going to appear on a televised quiz show. The older man is searching for his dog, and the salesman hopes to impress an attractive widow with his thoughtful gift of a birthday cake for her son.

The stories--and travels--of these people intertwine as they get closer to their destination. Nothing goes exactly as planned, but each character deals with her or his situation in a reasonably successful way.

I was struck by the caring and concern that strangers show for the travelers. I wonder if this is a realistic portrayal of life in Patagonia. If so, it may represent the good side of a frontier mentality--nature isn't going to help us, and the government isn't going to help us, so we have to help each other. (In fact, the only non-helpful people the travelers encounter are the television quiz show staff. The implication could be that once you step away from reality and into show business, kindness disappears.)

All the acting was excellent. The actors appeared to be amateurs, and it takes a skilled director to bring forth great performances from non- professionals. I want to single out the performance of Antonio Benedicti as Don Justo Benedictis, the older man. Don Justo is determined to find his dog, and the sheer power of this determination (along with a supply of yerba mate) carries him forward.

Another reviewer has called this film a small gem, and I agree. It's worth seeking out if you'd enjoy following four people in their difficult Patagonian odysseys.