Historias mínimas

A film by Carlos Sorín

A touching, yet unsentimental, and quietly profound road movie which follows the lives of three disparate travellers heading for the Argentine provincial town of Puerto San Julián. Roberto is a travelling salesman hoping to impress a young widow with a gift for her child. Don Justo is an old man with poor vision who sits in front of his grocery store entertaining passing children by wiggling his ears. María is a shy young mother who has won an appearance on a TV game show. Gently probing the hopes and aspirations of the characters, the film uses the interconnected tripartite structure to offer astute observations on a culture relatively unscathed by modernity in contemporary Argentina.

Don Justo is told that his lost dog, Badface, has been seen at the highway patrol station on the outskirts of San Julián and after much deliberation the old man decides to hitchhike the 300 kilometres from Fitz Roy to seek forgiveness and bring him back. A fellow traveller on the road is Roberto, a lonely and obsessive salesman who is in love with a young widow. He has had a cake baked in the shape of a football as a surprise for her child's birthday, but then suffers agonising doubt as to whether his perfect gift is actually appropriate. María, an impoverished young mother, receives news that she has been selected as a contestant on a television show where the grand prize is a top of the range food processor. As each character journeys to their destination in pursuit of a dream, they are helped by complete strangers whose kindness makes the task possible, but who ask for nothing in return. In the end, the three will get more or less what they set out for, but it will come to them in ways that they never expected.

This subtle and insightful study of the warmth and goodness of the human spirit is set amid the beautiful, barren landscapes of Argentine Patagonia.

Machuca

A film by Andrés Wood

Set in Santiago, Chile in 1973 when General Augusto Pinochet's military coup seized power from President Salvador Allende's democratically elected socialist government. The film follows the unexpected friendship of two 11-year-old boys who meet when an idealistic priest, Father McEnroe, begins a trial of social integration by admitting children from poor families to an elite private school. As the two boys learn about each other's very different worlds, a strong bond develops between them.

Gonzalo Infante is a shy and quiet boy from a privileged, middle class family living in a comfortable, bourgeois neighbourhood where his security is unquestioned, even though he is aware of his mother María's long-standing affair with a wealthy Argentinean businessman. Pedro Machuca comes from a poverty-stricken low class family in a nearby illegal shantytown, insanitary and overcrowded, where people live without even hope for a better future. The inclusion of the marginal students causes unrest at the school. Fights break out between boys of the two economic classes and parents call a meeting to voice their opposition to the "communist" priest. During one of these scuffles, Gonzalo protects Pedro from the bullies, suffering the most injury as a result, and later he visits Pedro in his home.

Gonzalo accepts his status without feeling superior and is willing to share his personal possessions without question, though Pedro's family continue to refer to him as "the snob". Pedro's seductive young cousin Silvana introduces both boys to her feminine charms which serves only to strengthen the bond for the innocent and impressionable Gonzalo. Together they attend political rallies in order to make a little money, selling Chilean flags to both the Nationalists and the Communists. But as emotions begin to escalate and street fights break out between far-left and far-right militants, the political unrest inexorably encroaches into their lives and the boys' friendship is shaken to the core.

This outstanding, semi-autobiographical and vividly realised drama was the first Chilean film to deal with this tumultuous time in the country's history.

XXY

A film by Lucía Puenzo

The chromosomal abnormality of XXY, known as hermaphroditism or intersexuality, results in a child born with both male and female reproductive organs. When detected at birth the condition usually results in a decision between physicians and parents to surgically alter the body to become one or the other phenotypic assignment – male or female. This remarkably subtle and intelligent film is a story of the understanding and acceptance of a diagnosis by both child and parents, and the interaction and conflicts such a gender variation can present.

Alex is a 15-year-old intersex from Buenos Aires. At birth her parents, marine biologist Kraken and his wife Suli, decided against having her operated on, in order that she would later be able to choose her gender herself. However, she was given female hormone supplements and has been raised as a girl. They are loving parents and have moved several times before settling in a remote area of Uruguay in order to protect her from the exposure and ridicule she previously suffered while living in Argentina. Alex's mother clearly wants her to be a girl, but her father has always maintained she should make the choice herself, and he is willing to accept whatever she decides. Alex is now beginning to discover herself and her preferences. She has many feelings, and she wants to express them.

In deep conflict about her situation, Alex refuses to take her medications, wanting to explore both aspects of her sexuality, as her physiology dictates. Given the chance to choose what to be, she will choose not to change, even against her parents' assumptions that she would want to be a girl. When Alex's mother invites her friend Erika and her surgeon husband Ramiro to their home to advise them on the surgical alternatives, they are accompanied by their shy, artistic son Álvaro who knows nothing of Alex's condition and has some sexual issues of his own. There is an immediate emotional attraction between Alex and Álvaro which will ultimately result in a crisis in the transition from adolescence to adulthood and self-acceptance for both these young people.

In her award-winning first feature, Lucía Puenzo explores the individual's self-discovery and our acceptance of their identity. She delivers a unique and sensitive depiction of the ambiguity of sexual awakening where the choices made will define what we are beyond the physical aspects. She also proclaims the right of being different, and to have the freedom to make those choices. Above all, she contends that a person with such a physical identity should not only be respected but can also be desired.