Waiting for the Messiah
- Director: Daniel Burman
- Writer: Daniel Burman; Emiliano Torres
- Producer: Luis Ángel Bellaba; Diego Dubcovsky
CGiii Comment
You will probably feel a little cheated by the end...and quite rightly so.
Burman seems to dry up - opting for a quick and compromised conclusion - the integrity of the piece slips through the fingers - like grains of sand...
A great shame...the character and story of Santamaria deserve a film of his own - beautifully, but not wholly, realised and played to downbeat perfection.
The lesbian/bisexual - whatever she is - is manipulative repugnance. The bisexuals get it again...
There's too much DIY video, an ineffectual lead and a distinct directorial inability to see and hold onto the good things created...the baby in the trash, the couple in the mirrors - beautiful scenes...too briefly displayed.
It had the potential of greatness - it achieves mediocrity.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
In 1999, Argentina's peso craters. Ariel, a young man from Buenos Aires' Jewish community, deals with his mother's fatal illness, finds a job as a night shift surveillance camera monitor, and wonders when he'll discover sex. Santamaria, middle aged, loses his bank job and is dismissed by his wife; he finds stolen wallets in dumpsters to return to their owners. Ariel tells Santamaria's story to a TV reporter who profiles lives on the street. She's Laura, in a relationship with another woman, but perhaps available. Ariel desires Laura, while Santamaria courts Elsa, a washroom attendant who's husband is in prison. Christmas and Hanukkah approach; can anyone connect?
Cast & Characters
Daniel Hendler as Ariel Goldstein;
Enrique Piñeyro as Santamaria;
Hector Alterio as Simon;
Melina Petriella as Estela;
Stefania Sandrelli as Elsa;
Chiara Caselli as Laura;
Gabriela Acher as Sara;
Imanol Arias as Baltasar;
Dolores Fonzi as Any;
Edda Bustamante as Mujer trampa;
Tajma Minoru as Oriental;
Juan Jose Flores Quispe as Ramon;
Eduardo Wigutow as Moshe Levin;
Beatriz Thibaudin as Anciana;
Sandra Sandrelli as Santa