Buenos Aires 100 Kilómetros
Encyclopedia
Buenos Aires 100 kilómetros (Buenos Aires 100 KM) (2004
) is an Argentine
, French, and Spanish, film, written and directed by Pablo José Meza
. The picture features Juan Ignacio Perez Roca, Emiliano Fernández, Alan Ardel, Hernan Wainstein, Juan Pablo Bazzini, among others.
The film, partly funded by INCAA
, tells a coming-of-age story in a town 100 kilometers from Buenos Aires
.
A group of five friends around thirteen years old begin to understand that life is not simply about riding bicycles, playing soccer games, or, if they can, enjoying the summer.
Guido (Alan Ardel) works under his father's orders and is sometimes rewarded with a beating.
Damian (Juan Pablo Bazzini) is an adopted child and, as such, suffers from an identity crisis that typically marks the teenage years.
Matias (Hernan Wainstein) is left outside his own house every night by his hateful parents.
Alejo (Emiliano Fernández) discovers that his mother has a lover and that women have desires and men have their failures.
Esteban (Juan Ignacio Perez Roca) is the goal-keeper of the football team and, as such, has the central role among his friends. Esteban draws his generosity from his family.
With their hormone
s kicking in due to reaching puberty
, the boys become curious about women and begin to have sexual desires, yet they still have to deal with their parents and families.
They begin to spend time outside a women's hairdressing salon.
The five boys yearn to grow older faster and dream about a place outside of their small town.
on December 8, 2004. It opened wide in Argentina on February 10, 2005.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Cartagena Film Festival
, Colombia
; the Gramado Film Festival, Spain; the Huelva Latin American Film Festival, Spain; the Havana Film Festival
, Cuba
; and others.
magazine and reporting from the San Sebastián International Film Festival
, gave the film a mixed review and wrote, "There's a feeling of autobiography in Pablo Jose Meza's first feature, Buenos Aires 100 km....Without the sardonic edge of similar tales like the Uruguayan 25 Watts
, pic also lacks the charm of a magic tale about growing up. What's on the screen is a notch franker than most TV fare, but not structured enough to win much play outside festivals...Aside from a few well-observed scenes and moments, there are a lot of warmed-over ideas and little compelling cinema."
Sneersnipe Film Review, in a column reported from the Gramado Film Festival in Spain wrote, "Unpretentious and refreshingly touching, Pablo José Meza's film, Buenos Aires 100 KM, tells the ordinary story of a group of 5 Argentine teenagers as they approach and apprehend the adult world and its brutal vanities for the first time."
Nominations
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
) is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, French, and Spanish, film, written and directed by Pablo José Meza
Pablo José Meza
Pablo José Meza is an Argentine film producer, director, and screenplay writer. Sometimes he is credited as Pablo Meza. His debut film, Buenos Aires 100 Kilómetros, was well regarded by film critics and won many awards.-Filmography:...
. The picture features Juan Ignacio Perez Roca, Emiliano Fernández, Alan Ardel, Hernan Wainstein, Juan Pablo Bazzini, among others.
The film, partly funded by INCAA
INCAA
The National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts is an Argentine government film production company in Buenos Aires. It promotes the Argentine film industry by funding qualified Argentine film production companies.-Ratings:...
, tells a coming-of-age story in a town 100 kilometers from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Plot
Guido (Alan Ardel) works under his father's orders and is sometimes rewarded with a beating.
Damian (Juan Pablo Bazzini) is an adopted child and, as such, suffers from an identity crisis that typically marks the teenage years.
Matias (Hernan Wainstein) is left outside his own house every night by his hateful parents.
Alejo (Emiliano Fernández) discovers that his mother has a lover and that women have desires and men have their failures.
Esteban (Juan Ignacio Perez Roca) is the goal-keeper of the football team and, as such, has the central role among his friends. Esteban draws his generosity from his family.
With their hormone
Hormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
s kicking in due to reaching puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, the boys become curious about women and begin to have sexual desires, yet they still have to deal with their parents and families.
They begin to spend time outside a women's hairdressing salon.
The five boys yearn to grow older faster and dream about a place outside of their small town.
Cast
- Juan Ignacio Perez Roca as Esteban
- Emiliano Fernández as Alejo
- Alan Ardel as Guido
- Hernan Wainstein as Matias
- Juan Pablo Bazzini as Damian
- Sandra Ballesteros as Raquel
- Rolly Serrano as Oscar
- Daniel ValenzuelaDaniel ValenzuelaDaniel Valenzuela , is a prolific film and television actor. He has also done some screenplay writing. He works in the cinema of Argentina....
as Horacio - Adriana AizembergAdriana AizembergAdriana Aizemberg is an Argentine film and television actress.She has appeared in film since the year 1967 making her debut in El ABC del amor making some sixteen appearances to date....
as Doña Anita
Distribution
The film was first presented at the Marrakech International Film Festival in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
on December 8, 2004. It opened wide in Argentina on February 10, 2005.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Cartagena Film Festival
Cartagena Film Festival
The Cartagena Film Festival, or Festival Internacional de Cine y T.V. de Cartagena de Indias. is a Colombian film festival which focuses on the promotion of Colombian television programs, Latin American films, and videos...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
; the Gramado Film Festival, Spain; the Huelva Latin American Film Festival, Spain; the Havana Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; and others.
Critical reception
Deborah Young, film critic for VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine and reporting from the San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
, gave the film a mixed review and wrote, "There's a feeling of autobiography in Pablo Jose Meza's first feature, Buenos Aires 100 km....Without the sardonic edge of similar tales like the Uruguayan 25 Watts
25 Watts
25 watts is a 2001 Uruguayan urban comedy drama film directed and written by Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll. The independent film picture stars Daniel Hendler, Jorge Temponi, and Alfonso Tort...
, pic also lacks the charm of a magic tale about growing up. What's on the screen is a notch franker than most TV fare, but not structured enough to win much play outside festivals...Aside from a few well-observed scenes and moments, there are a lot of warmed-over ideas and little compelling cinema."
Sneersnipe Film Review, in a column reported from the Gramado Film Festival in Spain wrote, "Unpretentious and refreshingly touching, Pablo José Meza's film, Buenos Aires 100 KM, tells the ordinary story of a group of 5 Argentine teenagers as they approach and apprehend the adult world and its brutal vanities for the first time."
Awards
Wins- Huelva Latin American Film Festival, Spain: Best New Director, Pablo José Meza; Silver Colon, Best Screenplay, Pablo José Meza; Special Jury Award, Pablo José Meza; 2004.
- Lleida Latin-American Film FestivalLleida Latin-American Film FestivalThe Lleida Latin-American Film Festival is a cinema festival that takes place in Lleida, Spain awarding Latin American films. It is organised by the Latin American Centre of Lleida and is sponsored by the city council , the University of Lleida and La Caixa...
: Best Film, Best Original Screenplay; Pablo José Meza; 2005.
Nominations
- Marrakech International Film Festival: Golden Star, Pablo José Meza; 2004.
- Cartagena Film FestivalCartagena Film FestivalThe Cartagena Film Festival, or Festival Internacional de Cine y T.V. de Cartagena de Indias. is a Colombian film festival which focuses on the promotion of Colombian television programs, Latin American films, and videos...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
: Golden India Catalina; Best Film, Pablo José Meza; 2005. - Gramado Film Festival: Golden Kikito Latin Film Competition; Best Film, Pablo José Meza; 2005.
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best First Film, Pablo José Meza; 2006.
External links
..- Buenos Aires 100 kilómetros at the cinenacional.comCinenacional.comCinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema.The site provides a vast array of information, including: films, television programs, directors, actors, cinematographers, film editors, production designers, and other production professions in Argentina...
. - Buenos Aires 100 kilómetros BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian official web site at Panda Filmes. - Buenos Aires 100 Km film review at La Nación by Adolfo C. Martínez .