Puan

Puan is the name of the street in the Caballito quarter of Buenos Aires that fronts the Faculty de Filosofía y Letras (School of Philosophy and Letters) of the University of Buenos Aires. Over time, Puan became the unofficial name of the school.

Eminent philosopher Jorge Caselli, holder of the chair of Political Philosophy has died suddenly and the school needs to find a replacement. The natural candidate is Marcelo Peña (Marcelo Subiotto), who was a student and collaborator of Caselli for many years. However, the choice complicates with the return of younger academic star Rafael Sujarchuk (Leonardo Sbaraglia), back from a brilliant career in Europe to compete for the job. A comedic situation arises from the interaction and infighting of the two. Marcelo is shy and awkward except in his classes, which are inspiring and popular. In contrast, Rafael is brilliant, extroverted, charismatic and devious. The first part of the movie is a brilliant comedy about the two and a slew of characters, some from inside the school, some from outside, some having odd connections with philosophy.

In the last part of the film comedy is toned down in favor of drama. Argentine public universities have always been a hotbed of political activism; every wall is covered with political posters. In this instance, there is a student mobilization to protest defunding of public universities (there is no tuition and few donations, so government support is critical). Marcelo is pushed from the comfort zone of his classes into the chaos of the real world. At the time the film was made, defunding was just a threat but it became reality under the retrograde government of Javier Milei. Fiction predicted reality, and hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets on April 2024 to defend Argentina's public education system and the hospitals associated with the University.

Subiotto and Sbaraglia play their chapters to perfection and the rest of the cast is at the same level. Writers and directors María Alché and Benjamin Naishtat move the tale forward smoothly, mixing seamlessly comedy and drama.

Smart comedies are hard to find, and a big part of the appeal of this film lies in the screenplay. Benjamin Naishtat and María Alché openly adress the lack of resources, obstacles of public education and the social and politic enviroment while mixing the comic situations that the protagonist put up with and at times they immerse us in philosophical introspections.

Marcelo Subiotto nails it with a subtle performance consistent with the reserved personality of his character.

On the other hand, Leonardo Sbaraglia shines every time he appears, however they waste him since his time on screen is brieflier than expected considering a big part of the marketing of the movie lies on him.

We loved this film. Comedy is much harder than drama and comedy with some heft and a real story is very rare. This film is just that - a great story, full of all sorts of cultural references and nuance, with incredible characters and great acting and directing.

Yes, there is a touch of Argentine romanticism, but that is an inherent part of Argentina. On a daily basis things are happening that you think "if I wasn't witnessing it with my own eyes, I would believe it."

Argentina has an incredible abundance of acting talent and it was on display here from the main characters all the way down to many of the many minor characters. There is fantastic acting at every turn.

The directors making endless great choices and actually avoid many of the overly romantic tropes of much Argentine film. No doubt they have a great future ahead and we'll be watching for future films.