Cara de queso - Mi primer ghetto - (2006) User Reviews

Mild cheese

[jotix100 · 5/10 · 22 January 2012]

Ariel Winograd the creator of "Headcheese" takes a trip back to his childhood years to the place where he spent most of his summers. The country club at the center of the story is patronized mainly by wealthy Jews who came out to this enclave to socialize and spend their leisure time away from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, as in most big cities around the world.

He alter ego is Ariel, the boy whose nickname lends itself to the title of the film. Ariel's memories capture all the things that happened to him at an early age. He sees the world around him and wonders what does it all mean. As a boy he watches some of his peers being cruel to others, as well as become fascinated by sex that is all around him.

The film has some good moments, but as memory films go, it is only a tamed view at that society. Todd Solondz, the American director who has delved into Jewish family situations, comes to mind, but Mr. Winograd's views are not as acerbic as his counterpart. There are appearances by Daniel Burman, Federico Luppi, Martin Pyroyansky, the wonderful Ines Efron, and other veteran actors. Sebastian Montagna plays the title role with conviction.

Don't waste your time and money going to the cinema......boring and meaningless

[yaboa · 1/10 · 23 October 2006]

This comment has to be useful to avoid this director in any way. DO NOT ever watch any of his films(unfortunately I watched 3 of them). This film is not only boring, but also the plot is not consistent and the personages do not have any remarkable role at all. They intend to be a stereotype of the country club people who live their lives next to the neighbours and where everyone knows each other and all the gossip going around. This story is incomplete, and in my opinion, too boring and depressing to have a good relaxing night at the cinema. It looks like a drama, but it is not. it looks like a comedy but it is not. it is a mixture of different situations that aren't serious at all, where a teenager is looked down by those children who are in charge, and has to get along with those ignored by them. The situations are too forced, and neither of the ones I spoke to could understand how such a film could be in village, with such a vague plot, meaningless dialogues and really slow in changing scenes. Other directors that work better deserve to take his place. Please repeat with me: "I will never watch this movie, even if I am forced to........."

Excellent portrait

[jmartin-78 · 8/10 · 9 March 2007]

I saw this movie not a long time ago, and I think is excellent. It's not supposed to be funny, it's supposed to be faithful to a really particular context: private countries clubs in the nineties, and the movie really fulfills that purpose. The whole plot which seems really superficial (in fact, it is a bit, but with a lot of humor) is just an excuse to shows what living in countries clubs was, in a very truthful way.

I think that everyone should consider seeing this movie, if only because it's very different from every Argentinian movie I've ever seen.

The Jewish community and the Argentine viewer

[jpschapira · 9/10 · 13 October 2006]

I can tell when a film is a first work; from a first time director. I don't know how you can tell that, but I know that Argentine first time directors usually choose common things for their films. I'm saying common for an Argentinian like myself. Jewish directors write scripts about Jewish families in their typical environment.

Daniel Burman directed "El Abrazo Partido", the most recognized among the films he did about his Jewish origins but with other characters in the story lines. What highlighted in each of Burman's films was the presence of the great Uruguayan actor Daniel Hendler and the fact that his main characters were always called Ariel.

Coincidentally, Ariel Winograd's picture main character is also named Ariel (as himself) and I believe his script contains an obvious reference to Burman when his name is mentioned during one scene. Ariel is played by a child actor named Sebastián Montagna, who appears as the main character in the plot, while not being the main actor of the film. Ariel has many friends of his age and they all live in a private neighborhood; a place where the popular kids mess with guys like Ariel and his friends.

Meanwhile, Ariel walks the streets with his friends and encounters his grandfather (the legendary Juan Manuel Tenuta): "How many times do you masturbate in one day?", he asks them. The grandfather character will have his moments, as will all of the characters in a brilliant screenplay where everyone gets a chance to shine.

Yesterday I read an interview made to two young actors of an enormous talent and a promising future ahead of them. Martin Piroyanski and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart; both of them star in "Cara de Queso": the first one as Ariel's brother David, a sports genius with a difficult girlfriend, the latter one as Felman, a nerd rejected by Ariel and his friends and crazy in love for Ariel's sister. In the interview, both actors appear so intelligent and their characters here demonstrate that intelligence as they cover their different faces.

Unlike many first time directors (Pablo Trapero with "El bonaerense", Carlos Sorín with "El Perro", Adrián Caetano with "Piza, Birra y Faso"), Winograd's casting includes actors we all know. Not only familiar but also terrific actors, like Mercedes Morán, Carlos Santamaría, the young Julieta Zylberberg and even Daniel Hendler as a sports man; plus the special appearances by Federico Luppi and Susú Pecoraro. All the child actors are the right choices for the peculiar beings Wingodard put on his screenplay.

In first works I look for innovation, and the cameras looking from the sky to the ceilings are really interesting. However, the screenplay is the element that makes us jump off our seats, because the behavior of the Jewish community never bores the Argentine viewer; and the unexpected endings like the one in this film never bore me.

So you must wonder…After a first screenplay and a first film like this one, probably about his own life; what will be the next thing on Wigodard's mind? I certainly hope something original and luckily different from this gem.