O Faz Nada

Probably the best Argentine mini-series ever. And I am not exaggerating. Extremely touching while still being funny, with a very simple story behind it, but extremely sophisticated. I am not surprised that the same people responsible for El Encargado, another wonderful series from the same country, are behind it.

The cast is led by an exceptionally talented veteran Argentine actor, Luis Brandoni, accompanied by a Paraguayan newcomer who brings just the right balance to the story. Not to mention, of course, the special participation of none other than Robert De Niro, in one of the most tender roles of his career. It is already rare to see an actor of his stature doing television, but to do it with total dedication, in a distant country and with the certainty of giving the best of himself.

Be sure to watch it.

I am not a fan of "Curb your exuberance" . In fact I despise it. But this Argentinian show is very engrossing.

The scenery makes Buenos Aires feel like Paris of the seventies. Brandini, as a food critic who cannot get the motivation to finish a book he has received an advance on, is brilliant. DeNiro has cameo roles explaining, in English, some cultural terms. He does it in a simple, face to camera style. Lovely.

The acting is convincing and has a scent of Aldomavar about it. Like Bon-Bon El Perro. Gentle pace. Realistic feel.

The idea that over forty years, the house keeper had created a manual of cooking, cleaning and recipes was so sweet. The deceased voice reads the contents as Brandini tries to follow.

I really enjoyed this series De Niro is amaizing, as newyorker narrating Buenos Aires culture, most of the series was in Spanish. The slang language and culture came through so beautifully authentic and genuine. The actors manage in an incredible way to make you feel, smell and desire. They archive to get us into the plot, making us happy, ridiculing us, loving us, hating us.

The verbiage used to describe the flavors were so poetic, epic and romantic . This was so well written. It's a deep simple story, like our lives themselves Luis Brandoni is definitely a very talented actor, as the rest of the team, this one is really really good!

I had no idea what to expect when watching this short (5 episodes) series. The plot is unsurprising but solid, the acting is excellent, and the cinematography is superb. I have never been to Buenos Aires, but I honestly wonder whether the tourist board has contributed to the financing of this project, because now I want to go there.

Lots of luscious Argentinian food is shown and talked about. The characters are fun, and the conclusion is surprising but good. I strongly recommend watching this in Spanish, with subtitles if you don't speak Spanish (I don't) -- the music of the language is a big part of the charm.

What I appreciated the most is the tempo -- it's slow. I can't stand current movies with their dizzying action sequences and their seizure-inducing flashes and explosions. This is a series that takes its time to tell its story, and it tells it in a lovely and loving manner.

When the subtle and the sophisticated are in balance, the result is this series, which far from being complex and inorganic, stands out for the precision in detail that makes it beautiful, fun and stripped. The dialogues are exquisite as well as the silences and Luis Brandoni is all that is good, he is the Anton Ego from Rio de la Plata. Robert de Niro's participation aims to give the product a certain status, do you need it? No; does it make sense? Yes. He highlighted the duo of the protagonist and the Paraguayan employee, a very real encounter of two worlds that take the best of each other. Real that I am hungry for more, there are few times that you see on the screen the combination of a good script, excellent performance, beautiful photography and art, good shots ... The combination of ALL this and more, makes NOTHING a work of art where the pretentious and the simple merge creating a microclimate of which you are part in the 31' that lasts each episode. Directors Duprat and Cohn are a duo that has already been giving us good substance, with a sharp style that I intuit aims to become a cult.