Nothing is going to stop Maria, Don Justo or Roberto from reaching San Julián, where Maria has been promised fame, Roberto foresees love and Don Justo seeks redemption. But getting there is no small task. With her lit... more »tle baby in tow, Maria hops on the bus, nervous about the journey ahead, but unwilling to let her chance to star on the popular game show "Multicolored Casino" slip away. For Don Justo, the journey to reunite with his long-lost friend Badface promises to be even more challenging, as he hits the road, trusting that the truckers he?s met through the years will stop to offer him a lift. In Roberto?s case, getting to San Julián isn?t the problem - it?s getting there by surprise, with a heartwarming gift, in the hope of of making a favorable impression on his secret love. Although the three neighbors begin their journeys separately, they encounter their share of detours along the way on the deserted routes, and their stories and dreams crisscross in seemingly free-form patterns at the most remote stopping points. In the end, Maria, Don Justo and Roberto will get more or less what they set out for, but it will come to them in ways that they never expected.« less
"This wonderful little gem of a road movie follows three characters as they travel from a wide spot in the road on the vast, flat plains of Patagonia in southern Argentina to the port town of San Julián. Made almost entirely with nonprofessional actors, the film is a picaresque sequence of moments in the lives of simple people being their quirky selves. No big adventure or car chases, the story is driven so to speak by an old man's search for a dog, a young mother's appearance on a low-budget TV game show, and a traveling salesman's romantic efforts to impress a storekeeper with just the right birthday cake. If you like little movies about everyday life in its lighter, comic moments, you'll enjoy this one. The DVD includes an informative making-of featurette."
Wonderful
Sharad Yadav | 10/20/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"What a wonderful movie. Three people heading into San Julian for different reasons. Don Justo going out to seek his lost dog, Maria to participate in a wheel-of-fortune TV show and the street-smart Roberto to seek elusive love. I was particularly impressed by Roberto's resourcefulness with the birthday cake and his creatively persuasive powers. It is a wonderful concoction of hope, despair, pain and love.
The movie has been made out of nothing (nada). There are no special effects and no action. A very simple fare that'll make you sit back and take a restock of the complex web we have woven around us and how little it takes to be happy.
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Small big beautiful stories
Ernest Heming | Australia | 05/30/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fantastic Argentine movie that shows life outside Buenos Aires, life in the remote region known as Patagonia. The movie shows different minimal stories, full of beauty, of slowness, of colour. You don't need to know Argentina or Patagonia to enjoy the movie but it helps understand some features or momentos of the film. Especially, life in the country-side. Recommended for anyone who wants to travel to the end of the world and who believes there is something more in life than money and big cities."
Appreciate this little jewel for what it is, a collection of
M. B. Alcat | Los Angeles, California | 08/15/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Intimate stories" (= "Historias mínimas") is a simple but enchanting film that allows the spectator to witness some moments in the lives of three very different people that wish only one thing: to reach San Julian.
Reaching San Julian (a nearby Argentinian town) mean something different for each of them. Maria (Javiera Bravo), a young and very poor mother that wishes to win something at a television show; Roberto (Javier Lombardo), a salesman that hopes to buy the perfect cake for the son of the woman he loves in silence; and Don Justo (Antonio Benedicti), an old man that wants to find "Badface", the dog he lost a long time ago...
At first sight, those stories seem unimportant. There is not too much action, and nothing even remotely controversial. However, that is not the point. The point is to appreciate this little jewel for what it is, a collection of real moments, instead of what it is not, a hollywood superproduction. If you are able to do that, you will enjoy the journey of these three characters through the immense and beautiful Patagonia. They are all different, but they share the hope that something good can be found at San Julian.
In my opinion, this small Argentinian film, directed by Carlos Sorín, is not for everybody. On the other hand, those who don't mind the relatively slow pace and pay attention to details are likely to find that they didn't waste their time watching "Intimate stories".
Belen Alcat
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Ordinary Lives in Patagonia
Nikolai | VT | 10/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I didn't know what to expect, so I was delightfully surprised by this wonderful movie. As a comparison, if you loved "The Straight Story" you will love "Intimate Stories". Outwardly nothing much happens, but despite their apparent ordinariness and the poverty of their surroundings we all end up caring and rooting for the three main characters: an old man, a middle-aged traveling salesman, and a young mother. The desolate wind-swept scenery of Patagonia is like another character in this subtly told story. A very good movie."