"Intimate Stories (Historias mínimas)" has superficial similarities to "Straight Story," as one of the characters is also an obsessed, guilt-ridden, crotchety old man.
It similarly shares with "Schultze Gets the Blues" how a casually imparted piece of information can cause a propulsive epiphany that sets the old man off on an improbable quest, as well being part of a tradition of road movies from "Five Easy Pieces" to "Smoke Signals," "The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motocicleta)" etc..
But director Carlos Sorin has more social commentary in mind than personal transformations, more like Balzac's "La Comedy Humaine" at the intersections where the "Scenes of Country Life" meet the "Scenes of Provincial Life," at a comparable historical moment where technology, communication and transportation are bringing these isolated environments into contact.
Sorin leisurely with subtlety visually and thematically intertwines debut screenwriter Pablo Solarz's stories of three very diverse characters in a tiny, dusty, rural community in Patagonia as they coincidentally decide to follow their dreams to the regional capital of San Julian.
In addition to the almost blind old man is a naive young mother and a charming middle-aged salesman. While each one's quest is literally quixotic, they manage to affect everyone they meet, as the foibles and ironies of human nature are delightfully and poignantly portrayed.
While the salesman's story is the most predictable, the film is amusing and heartwarming, as well as a beautiful travelogue through unusual terrain.
It similarly shares with "Schultze Gets the Blues" how a casually imparted piece of information can cause a propulsive epiphany that sets the old man off on an improbable quest, as well being part of a tradition of road movies from "Five Easy Pieces" to "Smoke Signals," "The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motocicleta)" etc..
But director Carlos Sorin has more social commentary in mind than personal transformations, more like Balzac's "La Comedy Humaine" at the intersections where the "Scenes of Country Life" meet the "Scenes of Provincial Life," at a comparable historical moment where technology, communication and transportation are bringing these isolated environments into contact.
Sorin leisurely with subtlety visually and thematically intertwines debut screenwriter Pablo Solarz's stories of three very diverse characters in a tiny, dusty, rural community in Patagonia as they coincidentally decide to follow their dreams to the regional capital of San Julian.
In addition to the almost blind old man is a naive young mother and a charming middle-aged salesman. While each one's quest is literally quixotic, they manage to affect everyone they meet, as the foibles and ironies of human nature are delightfully and poignantly portrayed.
While the salesman's story is the most predictable, the film is amusing and heartwarming, as well as a beautiful travelogue through unusual terrain.