Cenizas del paraíso

This is basically a movie about family relations: brother with brother, father with son.

Judge Makantasis and his three sons get along so well you can almost feel it as the movie goes on. The scene where all the four dance in the Greek way shows us how well based are the love and caring from one to the others.

Loyalty among brothers, because of a girl. Loyalty with their father, and how their world goes upside down when he dies.

I think is genial the way the director shows the story in a non-chronological order, dividing it in as many parts as brothers. It makes you understand each one's motivation.

A movie about family, fathers, sons, brothers, love, loyalty, sacrifice.

I've seen this movie at least eight times, and I never get tired of watching it. Among the good reasons to afirm this is that is one of the very few Argie films that tells a story, instead of using film as a political weapon.

But in the other hand is his bright and excelently written screenplay (by director Marcelo Piñeyro and known argentinian screenwriter Aida Bortnik), its smart, precise and sharp directing and the gifted performances of all actors in it.

On the scale of 1 to 10, I'll give this masterpiece a 10, because it really deserves it.

I've seen this movie from Argentina, and I think my opinion can be divided in two parts: the script and way the director guides us through it.

The script is an excellent thriller, with all the characters very well designed. The three brothers and their getting along with the father... you can feel their pain for his death. I think the scene where all they four dance that Greek music is breath-taking.

And the way the director puts us in the plot, with all the flashbacks. You never get lost. Separating the story in parts, it makes all much more clear.

Finally, thanks a lot for the update. I was sure Francisco Muro was not a judge.

This Marcelo Pineyro's 1997 directorial effort, shows a man that understands how to involve his viewers into a story that is not only pleasant to look at, but with a message. Working with Aida Bortnik, they have created a film that will surprise a lot of people, fortunate enough to watch it.

The film involves the family of a judge in Buenos Aires and his three sons. Costa Makantasis is an honest man surrounded by corruption in higher places. He is trying to uncover the machinations of Francisco Muro, a powerful man that is involved in many dirty business in Argentina. As luck should have it, his younger son meets Muro's beautiful daughter, Ana. The young woman practically moves into the Makantasis household as she and Nicolas are enjoying their time together.

Nicolas, the older Makantasis son, falls under the spell of Ana, as well. And we also have seen how Pablo, the middle sibling stares at the sexy woman. We realize there is going to be a reckoning because the way Ana is the object of love of two of the brothers who feel passionate about her.

The film begins with events that are the conclusion of the events that culminate in horrible deaths for two key figures in the story. In flashbacks, as a special judge, Beatriz Teller, examines the facts surrounding the mysterious circumstances in the two deaths, we are given the details in order to absorb what really happened.

Mr. Pineyro gets excellent performances of his cast. Hector Alterio, is seen as the head of the Makantasis family. He is a good man who is pursuing a cause that means a danger for himself. The wonderful Cecilia Roth plays the investigating judge Teller with a fury that shows her determination and resolve. Leonardo Sbaraglia, one of the best actors from Argentina, is seen as Pablo, the middle brother. Daniel Kuzniecka makes Nicolas, the older brother, come alive. Leticia Bredice is amazing as Ana, the woman who awakens passion in all the brothers.

The film will satisfy the viewers because of the rich web spun by Marcelo Pineyro to ensnare us into this interesting tale of passion and crime.

Cenizas del Paraiso is an aptly-named crime-thriller with just the right amount of intrigue, romance, action and pathos. Besides the compelling direction and excellent acting, I was especially impressed by how the story insinuated certain disturbing circumstances without being soap-opera vulgar about them. The story and direction suggest an even more intriguing backstory than is overtly presented. Hector Alterio is an amazingly versatile and charismatic actor and I would see any film of his.

Regarding the previous reviewer's comment on Argentine cinema being used primarily as a political tool, among the Argentine films I've seen, many have little or no political themes. Cenizas del Paraiso does indeed involve economic and political corruption and how it can infect other institutions. In any case, one would hope that any country with a history of horrendous political and human rights abuses would evolve to the point where the arts and press are free enough to expose and alert the people to the dangers of such abuses. American cinema produces and exports films about corruption in America; it is a testimony to the existence of democracy in Argentina that it is able to do so about Argentina. That said, this film is primarily a psychological crime drama with a subplot which includes corruption.