Luna de Avellaneda

This movie reflects the reality of a decadent Argentinean present, after the golden year when immigrants would find a land full of opportunities. "Luna de Avellaneda" is about the neighbors of a club(very popular social recreational Argentinean icons) in the suburbs of Buenos Aires trying to save it from an becoming a casino. The characters will have to decide whether they let the club (and its history of prosperity) go in order for them to have a job opportunity.

This film reflects the sad moments Argentina is going through, and the despair of a group of people trying to hold back their dignity. As an Argentinean I cannot help having a bittersweet taste after watching this excellent movie.

DON'T MISS THIS BEAUTY! This is, first of all, a first-rate film and probably one of the best movies to be remembered in the 21th Century. On the other hand, it certainly is Juan Jose Campanella's BEST film till now (his last of three). You simply cannot get any better than the acting (absolutely everyone!). The film is, true, very local. It depicts a very special segment of a nearby Buenos Aires (Argentina's Capital)city, the city of Avellaneda. The perfect dosage of drama and comedy (up to the hilarious, at times) mixed by Campanella is stunning. Probably, this film will be much more felt and appreciated by those living around the "Cuenca del Plata" ("River Plate Basin"), i.e. Montevideo (Uruguay), Bs.As. (Argentina) and Asuncion (Paraguay) where I was born and live. Ricardo Darin is simply put, one of the around eight best actors in the world, just like that. Some of the best moments are just a close-up of his face switching from doubt to joy with a smile and eyes getting wet. Furtheremore, I strongly recommend the DVD since with the Director Commentary on, Campanella talks profusely about his film, all along, with every possible technical detail of both his director and his writing. I wouldn't know whether the Director's Commentary is included in a USA or non-Latin America issue.

A superb movie, the best Argentine movie I've seen. The entire plot (the attempt to keep the neighbourhood social club going) is an allegory for Argentine recent history, and each character represents a strand in that, eg the old Don, the Spanish immigrant who came to Argentina so full of hope - like many - but whose time has passed. Despite the light relief and clever humour it's ultimately a tragic tale, as any good tango. I'm not sure how well it would play outside the country ie if it would resonate with people who didn't understand the allegory, but for anyone with an interest in Argentina it's a definite don't miss.

At once universal, in its complex Dickensian portrait of a society, and extremely timely - narrating in microcosm the recent economic crisis in Argentina - Luna de Avellaneda is a beautiful, eloquent film that will resonate deeply with both Argentine viewers and audiences worldwide. Very funny and very moving, the film is rich in human drama, its characters ranging from a small boy whose braces are killing him to an old man on his deathbed, with all sorts of variations in between - a man who discovers his wife is having an affair, a son who wants to escape the catastrophic situation by emigrating to Spain, a drunk who falls in love and tries to reform, a girl from a shanty town who wants to learn ballet. Small miracles occur throughout the film. The dialogues are brilliant, the acting consistently strong. As in reality (though not often depicted in films), economic concerns are never far from anyone's mind, yet at the same time the emotional life persists. Rarely have I seen such a felicitious melding of the two, as when the central character, Roman, whose marriage is failing, goes to buy cologne to try to spice things up and, after perusing the range of possibilities, can only afford the cheapest, and most acrid-smelling, scent on the shelves. Or when a still infuriated divorcee invites her ex to a romantic dinner in a five star restaurant and, after ordering numerous bottles of the best champagne, then slips away leaving him to foot the bill. I cannot recommend this film highly enough.

"Luna de Avellaneda" it's a good movie. Sometimes it reminds some Italian ones where "nostalgia" was used. The idea of the movie -talking about a social and sports club as a symbol of the Argentinian situation during the 90's is good, specially if it takes human feelings to explain the loss of some people values in the last decade. Exploring in feelings and contradictions of the human being is one of the best characteristic of Campanella's movies. Ricardo Darín, Mercedes Morán y Eduardo Blanco are very good in their characters specially Blanco. It's not a depressing movie although the topic can be sound like that. Actually, it has a hopeful message that tell us: "Never say that everything is lost". Nevertheless, "Luna de Avellaneda" isn't the best Campanella's movie. It repeats some concepts we saw in "Son of the Bride" or "Same love, same rain" -perhaps the best one.