Bolivia

The life of illegal immigrants, in Buenos Aires or in another place in the world, is a black & white life, the colors are off. For telling the routine of a Bolivian cook, alone, sleeping in a bar, with his wife and children living 1500 miles away, disturbed everyday by police asking for his papers, white and black are enough. You won't find here famous actors or great special effects. Almost the whole movie occurs in a cheap neighbourhood bar. But the story is universal, it could be a Turkey in Munich, a Tunisian in Marsella or a Mexican in Los Angeles.

Hector Kesselman, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This film sums up what's good about small cinema. They spend millions of dollars on rubbish movies and then this classic is produced on a shoestring. I thought the use of the football and boxing footage worked well, and overall it is a fantastic film from start to finish. Having just watched Crash, it is interesting to contrast the clichéd approach to racial tension in that film to the delicate yet ultimately more powerful way this film deals with the same theme. What a shame that, judging by the lack of response to this film, not very many people have seen it. Can anyone recommend films of this type that might be worth watching.

i've seen this movie about 6 times now. and with me a growing number of people in honduras. this country lives on the American dream, so this is a eye opener for them. it shows the real live illegals have. the rough and tough conditions in which they live and work, the in hospitality of the people around them. the introduction of the movie is simply superb and already lays an underground for the rest of the film. shot on 16 mm black and white, the movie has an immense draw to it. and it doesn't matter that the acting is rough on the edges, it just ads. it has made some honduras think things over, but they probably still will go. fits in with La Ciudad and El Norte.

Bolivia is filmed entirely in black and white, contains almost no score, and 90% of it takes place in the same setting - a quaint, run-down café frequented by Argentinian regulars.

It sounds slow but captivates for the entirety of its short duration. The movie follows an illegal immigrant, Freddy, who is trying to make his way in the country as he struggles to deal with intolerant locals. He supports a family back home and wants them to join him in Buenos Aires when he saves up enough money.

The film delivers a powerful message about xenophobia and poverty in South America in the modern era. Despite its short length, it is one of my favorite foreign films to date.

In a small bar/restaurant, at a corner in Buenos Aires Argentina, a Bolivian immigrant finds a job as a cook. His experiences and those of the locals in the bar are used by the director to tell us a story about life of working class people in nowaday Argentina. The film is almost entirely shot in the bar. The scenery, discussions in the bar, and development of the drama have a Jarmusch like quality.

The film won the critics-price in the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Highly recommended!