El abrazo partido

"Lost Embrace (El Abrazo partido)" is like a modern Sholom Aleichem story set in a Yiddishkeit neighborhood of Buenos Aires that feels very much like NYC's Lower East Side.

Here, the village full of multi-generational eccentric characters is a small mall in the middle of the city where each of a variety of Jews and other immigrants is long familiar with and tolerant of the other's idiosyncrasies and mysteries.

As played by Daniel Hendler, Ariel is an adorable slacker who thinks the solution to his ennui is to become European but ends up searching this community for his full identity and heritage -- as a Jew, as a grandson of Polish immigrants, as a mother's son, as a son of a father in Israel, as a lover, a brother, friend and Argentinian. His loving relationship with his brightly henna-haired mother as he helps out at her lingerie shop is both unusually sweet and mature and a nice counter-point to how Jewish mothers are usually portrayed.

Co-writer/director Daniel Burman uses the midrashic technique of having each question asked by the central character answered by a story, with titles appearing on screen as chapter headings. Each story is open to Talmudic-like interpretation by the participants and leads to unexpected revelations. For example, the joke from "Fiddler in the Roof" of traders arguing about whether it was a mule or a donkey is here an ongoing feud about whether it was in pesos or dollars.

While his quest greatly impacts the others he questions as each makes important changes in habits, it is a bit confusing that the more Ariel gradually learns about his history and just how entwined he is in his community, the less he is able to assimilate it into his image of himself. He does seem to learn forgiveness or maybe at least tolerance and empathy, but the sum totaling of all the charming anecdotes is that he can accept eating a certain symbolic sandwich.

Ah, life goes on in this easy-going tale.

"Abrazo partido" is a very subtle, true to life story about the middle classes in Buenos Aires after the economic crisis 2001. Those that have been to Argentina will undoubtedly recognize some of the beautifully stereotyped protagonists: the melancholic youngster, the budding bric-a-brac entrepreneur, the disillusioned pensioners recalling Argentina's glory days, the disrespected immigrant labourer. These characters make this idiosyncratic country, and indeed this movie, so likeable. Even the people's underlying optimism and the love for their country, which -in the light of Argentina's demise- may surprise visitors, shines through. I highly recommend the movie 9/10.

Actually I'm from Lithuania and I was interested in this film, because from the film synopsis and credits I have learned that it shows lives of Eastern European immigrants in Argentina and Lithuania belongs to Eastern Europe. Maybe you don't know, but in first part of XX century there was big flow of emigration from Lithuania to South America. So I was very surprised, when I saw girl from Lithuania in film speaking ... Russian when film credits indicate that she is speaking ... Lithuanian. Next thing, her name is Vilna and there is no such Lithuanian name. Perhaps it was made up from name of Lithuanian capital Vilnius or misspelled from Vilma. In America, especially USA, people from Lithuania are regarded as being Russians, and for Lithuanians who were occupied bu Soviet Union it is an insult, but it does not relieve director or script writer from responsibility to check about subject depicted. Especially when film pretends to be in reality style. Cinematogapyhy and storyline is good, I do not argue, but poor analysis of the details casts doubt about reality value of this film and its pretensions to social criticism.

A Jewish Argentinian young man, a little confused, a little depressing; a father that went away to Israel when he was a just a baby, a mother that seems to be living in a fantasy world, a polish grandmother who thinks that "there in Europe they want to kill all the jews", a brother who has sort of an export-import business in which he sells all kind of useless stuff, a lover married to an old man, a commercial gallery full of weirdos ... AND TONS OF Argentinian SARCASM!

Lively dialogues, the Argentinian verbal-diarrhoea which is present in every sequence, the innate naturalness of Argentinian actors, and a filming style pretty similar to latest north-European cinema, Von Trier, the DOGMA manifesto, and all that ... That's (maybe) the weakest point of "El Abrazo Partido": too much camera movement, so much that in some sequences it gets a little annoying. (I'm not very in favour on making a whole movie with the camera on your shoulder).

In short: a film about ordinary people, plenty of Argentinian sacastic humour.

My rate: 7/10

I don't like Daniel Burman's movies. I don't recommend them. I solve my prejudice with this one. This movie is agile, simple and effective. This movie has a very good second part and increases the level towards the end.

The film tells the story of Ariel Makaroff (Daniel Hendler), Jewish, late twenties with a mentality of a teenager. He runs from one place to another and he his idea consists in going abroad with Polish documents. He is running from the crisis of the country and all the people seems to have no brain. His father left him when he was a baby to go to war. Apparently his father went abroad for a different reason that Ariel will find out towards the second part of the movie. Simple plot, great ending.

Performances are very good with an Oscar for Adriana Aizemberg who plays the role of the mother. I would like to thank Burman for solving my prejudice. A well received award in Berlin. I give this movie a 9 out of 10. Andrés.