Esperando al mesías (2000) User Reviews

Two Men at a Crossroads

[pdx3525 · 7/10 · 13 March 2005]

Two Men at a Crossroads "Waiting for the Messiah" shows us two different worlds and two different men and how each deals with personal and professional loss.

Ariel is a young man living in Once, the predominately Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Aires, a city that also has Latin America's largest Jewish community. The path of Ariel's life is clear and certain: marriage to Estela, a beautiful waitress working in his father's restaurant, followed by children, and a long life in the tight-knit neighborhood he's always known.

But the unexpected death of Ariel's mother and the temporary closing of the family restaurant because of Argentina's economic crisis lead Ariel, an amateur filmmaker, to leave the Once barrio each day for a night shift job editing video tape. There Ariel meets Elsa, a lesbian who makes him reconsider his earlier choices.

The life of Santamaria, a middle aged, middle class bank clerk, is also transformed by Argentina's economic problems. Santamaria is thrown out of work and dumped by his wife when his bank closes. Soon he's living on the streets and reduced to rummaging through trash to find stolen identification cards that he can return to owners in hopes of a reward. Santamaria yearns for the conventional wife and the family life that Ariel is considering escaping.

"Waiting for the Messiah" skillfully weaves together the stories of Ariel and the people of their lives as each man explores what to do next. Though the ending feels forced and almost tacked on as an afterthought, the stories that take you there are entertaining and absorbing. The real strength of this movie, however, lies in the glimpses it offers of Jewish life in Argentina and how ordinary people have coped with the country's latest round of economic troubles.

7/10

Nice but not a must.

[andre.koster · 6/10 · 16 August 2001]

Tempted by IMDB's rating of 8.7 my expectations were clearly set too high for this movie. Also, the "comedy" genre keyword didn't become clear to me. What did became clear was how hard life can be, what a struggle it can become. Either by the bank employee who losses his job and is put on the street by his wife/girl-friend and becomes homeless. Or by the Jewish young man who keeps working on a temporary contract, always hoping for a fixed contract while courting a lesbian. The interesting comparison that can be made between the two, is that surely the bank employee is much worse off the the Jewish young man, but is much less unhappy. The bank employee gets satisfaction from his "job" of returning personal things from people that have been robbed (he searches garbage for thrown away wallets and such that were stripped from the money by thieves). Especially beautiful are the scenes of the bank employee and the woman he falls in love with, the toilet madame of the train stations' bathrooms. Some very romantic moments are captured there.

However, the movie needs the first half of the time to set things up. That's too long, one starts wondering after 45 minutes where things are heading for. The second half must deliver the satisfaction, but has a hard time doing so. It is certainly a nice movie, but not a must to see IMHO.

Waiting for the Messiah

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 25 July 2006]

We first watched this film as part of a festival of new Argentine films in 2000 at the Walter Reade. Although we liked it, we didn't think it was extraordinary. Watching it for a second time, we found a different meaning in this look at life in Buenos Aires.

The film takes place in one of the darkest days of Argentina, as the DeLaRua administration was ending. The country was in turmoil after the economy, which had flourished earlier in the 1990s, under the artificially climate President Menen created. It was a time when bank accounts in dollars were frozen and people got themselves living a nightmare.

The story begins just as Santamarina, a bank employee, is fired because the collapse of the economy. Instead of receiving sympathy from his wife, she locks him out of the apartment and he, for all practical purposes, becomes a homeless man. He takes to the streets trying to make ends meet.

The other story introduces us to Ariel, a young Jew, interviewing for a job in a Spanish company. It's almost a miracle he gets the job. His father, Simon, owns a small restaurant in the Jewish quarter of "El Once" in the center of the city. Things go from bad to worse, when Ariel's mother dies suddenly. Only Estela, the young woman who is in love with Ariel, comes to help father and son.

Santamarina, who is a clean man, has to resort to take showers wherever he can. He chooses a ladies' room in one of the subway stations. When the attendant, Elsa, finds him naked, she becomes furious, but she comes to her senses when she realizes the unhappy circumstances of this man who has seen better times. They become romantically involved, and Santamarina in one of his trips through the street garbage, finds an infant. Elsa, while surprised, wants to do the right thing. But Santamarina convinces her of the meaning of an innocent life in their lives will cement their love.

Ariel, who has met the gorgeous Laura at work, begins a turbulent and heavy sexual affair with his beautiful co-worker, who unknown to him, is involved in a lesbian affair. Ariel who free lances by photographing weddings and other occasions, feels a passion for Laura, but he realizes what Estela has sacrificed in order to help his father and still loves him.

Daniel Burman, whose "El Abrazo Partido" we thought was excellent, did wonders with this film. Things are put in its proper perspective after a second viewing recently and we must apologize for not having perceived it the first time around. If anything, this second time, the nuances of the screen play Mr. Burman and Emiliano Torres wrote, make more sense because they reflect the turmoil of what the country was living during those dark days.

Daniel Hendler, who plays Ariel, has collaborated with Mr. Burman before to surprising results. He is not 'movie star pretty', yet, he is handsome. This actor projects a tremendous sincerity in his work. Enrique Pineyro is another magnificent surprise. His Santamarina is disarming. In spite of all the bad things that have fallen on him, he keeps a rosy attitude toward everyone he meets. Stefania Sandrelli, the interesting Italian actress, makes a great contribution to the film with her Elsa. Hector Alterio, one of the best Argentine actors plays the small part of Simon. The gorgeous Chiara Coselli is seen as Laura and Melina Petrielli appears as the noble Estela.

"Esperando al mesias" proves Daniel Burman is a voice to be reckoned with in the Argentine cinema.

not that great

[dbrookfield · 3/10 · 13 October 2001]

I too was intrigued by the high (8.5) rating for this film, and was very disappointed. I had just seen a couple of good foreign films and was looking forward to making it three in a row, but it was not to be. I went with a spanish speaking friend who felt the same way. There is not much of a plot, if any. I don't necessarily need that in a movie, but it needs to somehow entertain or bring me in. The best I could say would be that it aspires to be an Altman-esque film, albeit with an extremely small ensemble. Sure, there are moments, but a few moments easily get thinned out by 97 slow minutes of nothing. I do not understand the high rating for this film. I give it a 3.

Original; Among the best South American films of 2000

[ElianaM · 10/10 · 13 June 2001]

This outstanding Argentine independent film is one of the very best of the year 2000 from all South America, including Argentina, which is producing an astonishing number of quality films since 1999. In 2000 alone, Argentina released many quality films, which broke Argentine B.O. records. A half dozen were internationally acclaimed, like this one, at important world film festivals. After viewing this film, one can see how home grown Argentinian films were able last year to recapture 20% of its national movie market.

Directed by one of Argentina's best directors, Daniel Burman, this film examines effects of globalisation worldwide, but emphasizes its impact on Argentina, and particularly the Jewish community of Buenos Aires. Daniel Hendler is wonderful as the nice Jewish boy, trying to survive and even succeed in today's business climate. Hector Alterio, one of the great actors of Hispanic Cinema worldwide, is perfect as Simon, the Jewish father, as is the rest of the cast, which includes Spanish and Italian stars.

So many current themes in urban Western societies are explored, I don't have enough space to go into detail. Daniel Burman cleverly weaves them into the plot with different characters personifying diverse dilemmas. If this film plays at a festival near you, or on video, don't miss it!