Hoy y mañana

This movie was shown as part of "A certain regard" in Cannes Film Festival this year (2003). It was well received by the critics and shows that Antonella Costa (Garage Olimpo, Figli/Hijos) is an excellent actress and that she has a bright future. The movie is a reflection of the crisis in Argentina which lead people to do things that normally should not happen. It is Alejandro Chomsky's first feature, and was obviously finished before the new Argentinian president's election. Fortunately, although still a bit too early to be sure, there are some encouraging signs of optimism in Argentina. Anyway the economical situation is still critical and the unemployment (in a certain way one of the movie's subject) is always very high in Argentina. This movie shows that there is a lot of young talent in this country. Let's hope it will be released abroad.

Is one of the best Argentinian films i have seen in my life, almost a master piece. You should all see it.

Briefly, the story is:

After her gas is cut off, Paula - an aspiring actress - finds her day going from bad to worse. Unable to borrow money from her friends, or from her estranged father, she is then propositioned by the director of her play and loses her job. Needing 300 pesos to pay off her landlord, she turns to an old school friend, now a prostitute, in the hope of getting some cash. The perils she faces through this awful day continue through the night. Will she be able to cope with her new professions? What will tomorrow bring?

Setting it over the course of a single day and night, he manages to weave a series of perilous situations for his central character to overcome. But this is no simple tale of black-and-white morality, or an uplifting fable of hard work overcoming all.

I watch movies more with emotions than analysis. Oftentimes I judge by whether the story or the characters touch me.

In the case of Hoy y mañana, I don't feel for the protagonist at all. She wondered aimlessly and lived by instinct. She had a lot of people caring for her, her uncle, her well-to-do pregnant friend, her boyfriend, and her dad, who seemed to have been trying to instill some sense into her forever. Even her prostitute friend was generous and helpful. She used all this kindness surrounding her, and then carelessly tossed them aside, like used tissues. Her aspiration, the theater work, which is supposed to be her identity, seemed shaky, without a promise to be in production, and ran by a slime.

The production quality of the movie is plain vanilla. The story line is just a digital camera following the protagonist around the streets over night. The clients she encountered seemed unconvincing. The hand-held camera work, Blairwitch Project style, went overboard. I had to turn away from the screen a few times. There's really no point in creating a style just for the sake of being different.

There are so many good movies out there, even if you are into indies and foreign films. Don't waste your time on this one.

This Argentine film came as a total surprise when it was shown in a cable channel recently. Alejandro Chomski has directed the film, which presents us with a young woman at a point in her life, so bleak, that appears hopeless.

If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.

The beautiful Antonella Costa, is Paula, an aspiring actress and a waitress in a restaurant. When we first meet her, she is seen in a restless state trying to get money from the ATM, without any luck. In a way, she must be expecting a miracle, knowing full well there is no money in the account. To make matters worse, the play she is seen rehearsing, will not open in a while and she loses her job at the bistro because she's been late three times, recently.

The film follows Paula through the streets of Buenos Aires trying to get a kind soul to lend her money to help her pay the back rent she owes to a landlord that wants her to give him what she owes. Everyone she asks to help, can't do anything for her. Even her own father, questions her instead of being kind.

In desperation, Paula goes to see a friend who is a prostitute. She feels that she will be able to get the funds she needs in order to survive by taking to the streets with this young woman. Things go from bad to worse. Everything she touches turns out to be wrong. The people she meets are predators that want their money's worth; they all use Paula to satisfy their own needs. The only kind soul she meets appears to be Raul, the Spaniard executive, but Paula doesn't want any part of him.

This film reflects the reality in Argentina in the turmoil that followed recent catastrophic government measures that left the people impoverished and unemployed because of the hard times the country was going through. That anxiety and despair is what we see in young Paula. There is not a ray of hope, which was the point Mr. Chomski, the director was trying to make.

The film owes everything to one of the most amazing performances by an actress in recent memory: Antonella Costa. She is the embodiment of Paula, the young woman at the center of the story. It's painful, at times, to watch what Paula is going through in front of our eyes. Yet, the film ends with a moment of reflexion and perhaps hope, as Paula gets out of the taxi that is taking her home, after a hard night, and she faces the immensity of the river as the sun is rising in the distance. In fact, we realize at this moment that Paula and the country she represents, will survive.

Watch this movie in order to see the magnificent young actress, Antonella Costa!

The acting seemed wooden to me. She was the same person before and after she turns to the world's oldest profession.

OK, jobs are hard to come by, I get that - but then she can't even keep hers. Her uncle runs a restaurant, she could work there too. I'm not saying it would be biscuit city, but there appear to be other options.

So, in one night she becomes a hardened whore - the character never really changed. She jumps right in to a lifestyle where nobody is a real person and everybody wants something from somebody. And she was no different! She didn't need any training in becoming a hooker, she seems to have been born saying "where's my money?"

Pacing was slow and there were one too many "riding behind her on the motor scooter" shots.

Not buying it - a waste of time.