Historias mínimas

Argentine director Carlos Sorin scores a triumph with this wonderful movie in which he, working with the brilliant script of Pablo Solarz, take us for a ride into that lonely area of the Argentina's Southern region of Patagonia.

If you haven't seen the film, perhaps you should stop reading.

The story brings together three lives into play. First there is the old Don Justo Benedictis, who we see at the beginning of the film being tested for glasses. He is at the end of his life, at the edge of senility, but still with a zest of life. He wants to make peace, perhaps before dying with his old dog that disappeared and according to a passerby, it's been seen at the entrance of San Julian, a town 200 miles away.

Then, there is Maria, the young woman employed in the local gas station, who evidently is from a neighboring country, perhaps Bolivia. Her best friend comes to tell her she has been named one of the finalists for the grand prize of a local television program. She has an infant and she objects to the trip because she can't leave the station unattended, but her friend insists she should go.

The third brief story is about Roberto. He is a traveling salesman on his way to San Julian to see the young widow he has been courting. It's going to be one of her young children's birthdays and he has ordered a cake in the shape of a football. Along the way to San Julian, doubt assaults Roberto. Suddenly he thinks that Rene, the name of the birthday child might not be a boy. What if it's a girl? Since he has the cake in the car, he wants to change it into something unisex. He is directed to the home of a kind woman who helps him change the football into a cute turtle.

This is basically the premise of this road movie. The emphasis is on Don Justo, who shows an uncanny sense of intelligence. He has seen a lot during his life. His story is the most tender of the three because we realize he will not be among us for a long time. Thus, his reunion with his dear lost dog becomes so poignant. Don Justo receives kindness from everyone he meets, including Roberto, who happens to take Don Justo in his car during the last part of the journey.

Roberto, also arrives at San Julian and finds the widow's house locked. All that traveling, just for nothing! Also, when he sees her return with the children, he sees a younger man with them and thinks all is lost for him. Maria, is seen at the television studio participating in the game in which she will win the top prize, but another contestant will get her to change her mind and give it to her in exchange of a more eye catching gift and money.

At the end we see Don Justo at the rear of the bus that is bringing him home with his dog by his feet. We also see Maria with her baby opening the prize she won in the contest. Roberto too, will find out how wrong he was thinking the young widow has a new interest. Yes, at the end is a happy one for all the three people we meet on the road.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best films to come out of Argentina in years. We watch people without complications take care of their problems in a positive way. The film is uplifting in that it shows us human situations about people we can relate to. They could have been our neighbors, or friends.

Mr. Sorin has extracted wonderful performances from all the people one sees in the film. The best being that of Antonio Benedicto, who steals one's heart with his portrayal of the older man, at the end of life, trying to make amends and be at peace with the world. Javier Lombardo, who plays Roberto, makes a tremendous impression with his effortless take on the salesman. Finally, Javiera Bravo, brings a certain naivete to her role as the unsophisticated woman who is now the center of attention.

Watch this excellent film with an open mind, as it will stay with the viewer for a long time to come.

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.

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.

An excellent movie from the most spectacular end of the world, Patagonia, which tells in a slow pace short, unspectacular but very humane stories of every day life: the ways of four protagonists - Don Justo is the most touching old man seen on the screen in a long time - cross in Puerto San Julian, the province capital, which is still just a handful of wind-shaken houses on the scenic coast. Poetic landscape, impressing actors, human touch - a must-see, not only for Patagonia fans.

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.