Plot

A well-ordered hardware store owner in Buenos Aires will see his life turn upside down when he helps a stranded Chinese man who doesn't speak a word of Spanish find his uncle in the bustling city. But can this coexistence bear fruit?

In Buenos Aires, the bitter and methodic Roberto is a lonely man and the owner of a hardware store. Roberto collects bizarre worldwide news in an album as a hobby and his acquaintance Mari has an unrequited love for him, but Roberto is always evasive. One day, Roberto sees a Chinese named Jun being expelled from a taxi while he is watching the landing of airplanes in the airport and he helps the man to stand up. Jun does not speak Spanish and shows a tattoo with an address on his arm. Roberto heads to the spot with Jun and discover that the place belonged to Jun's uncle that sold it three and half years ago. Roberto goes with Jun to the police station, to the China's embassy and to a Chinese neighborhood to seek out his uncle but it is a fruitless search. Roberto lodges Jun in his house and after a series of incidents, he finds a delivery boy to translate Jun and he learns the dramatic story of his life.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Meticulously keeping his life under control and hiding behind his invariable habits, Roberto, an embittered recluse and owner of a hardware store in Buenos Aires, collects news clippings to confirm his strong belief that life is just a series of absurd events. However, the unexpected encounter with Jun, a totally disorientated and stranded young Chinese man, will turn Roberto's orderly existence upside down, as he feels impelled to help the hapless man who doesn't speak a word of Spanish. Inevitably, as one thing leads to another, the two polar opposites will live under the same roof, under the condition that Jun finds his lost uncle in the bustling capital within a week. But can this begrudging coexistence finally bear fruit?—Nick Riganas