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Nine Queens (2000
) is an Argentine
crime drama film
written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky
. The picture features Gastón Pauls
, Ricardo Darín
, Leticia Brédice
, and Tomás Fonzi
, among others.
The film was nominated for 28 awards and won 21 of them.
It tells the story of two con artists who meet, apparently randomly, and decide to cooperate in a scam.
Then a rare scheme seemingly falls into their laps: a former business associate of Marcos convinces them to sell counterfeit copies he made of some rare stamps
called "The Nine Queens". The potential mark is Gandolfo, a rich Spaniard who is facing deportation and desperate to smuggle his wealth out of the country. He is unable to fully check if the stamps are authentic but he hires an expert to do a quick check and is satisfied. He offers them $450,000 for the stamps, the exchange to take place that evening. In the intervening time, a number of things go wrong. The stamp expert demands a cut, as he knew the stamps were in fact forged. The fake stamps are then stolen out of Juan and Marcos' hands by crooks on a motorcycle who are unaware of their value, destroying them by tossing them into a river.
To salvage the scheme, Juan and Marcos see if they can buy the real stamps from their owner, a widow whom they convince to sell the stamps for $250,000. If they can raise the cash, they figure they can still make a $200,000 profit. Juan initially backs out as he is hesitant to trust Marcos with his money, but at the end of the day he kicks in $50,000 on top of Marcos' $200,000 and they buy the real stamps. That night they go to the buyer's hotel, but he says he has changed his mind and will now only buy the stamps if he also gets to sleep with Marcos' sister, a hotel employee. Marcos convinces his sister Valeria to sleep with the buyer, but in exchange she makes him admit to his younger brother how he swindled him out of his inheritance. The buyer of the stamps pays with a certified check
, but the bank crashes
the next day, making the check worthless.
It appears that Juan and Marcos are both ruined, but the final scene is a surprise ending. Juan heads back to his warehouse, where he joins everyone except Marcos who was involved in the stamp transaction, relaxing after a successful heist. The entire time, the real scam was to screw Marcos out of $200,000 as revenge for all the times he swindled his family and his partners, and Juan was actually engaged to Valeria, to whom he showed signs of affection throughout the film.
song throughout the film. The song by Rita Pavone "Il Ballo Del Mattone" plays as the credits run.
, USA; the Toronto Film Festival, Canada
; the Medellín de Película, Colombia
; the Portland International Film Festival, United States; the Cognac Festival du Film Policier, France
; the München Fantasy Filmfest, Germany
; the Norwegian International Film Festival
, Norway
; and others.
In the United States
it opened on a limited basis on April 19, 2002.
film Criminal
. It was also used as a basis for the following Indian films: the Bollywood
film Bluffmaster! (2005) and the Malayalam film Gulumal (2009).
liked the screenplay of the film, and wrote, "And on and on, around and around, in an elegant and sly deadpan comedy. A plot, however clever, is only the clockwork; what matters is what kind of time a movie tells. Nine Queens is blessed with a gallery of well-drawn character roles, including the alcoholic mark and his two bodyguards; the avaricious widow who owns the "nine queens" and her much younger bleached-blond boyfriend, and Valeria the sister, who opposes Marcos' seamy friends and life of crime but might be willing to sleep with Gandolfo if she can share in the spoils."
The San Francisco Chronicle
film critic, Edward Guthmann, also reviewed the film positively and thought the actors performed quite well, writing, "Fast-paced and unerringly surprising, Nine Queens is nicely performed by a large cast, particularly Darín (El hijo de la novia) as a goateed, less-than- perfect hoodwinker. David Mamet
plowed this con-the-con turf in Heist
, House of Games
and The Spanish Prisoner
, but Bielinsky, in his directing debut, makes it seem sassy and reinvented."
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
) 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...
crime drama film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky
Fabián Bielinsky
Fabián Bielinsky was an Argentine film director born in Buenos Aires.He started to make films early in his life, while still a high school student in the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, after graduation he started studying psychology, a career he shortly followed and dropped out in favor to...
. The picture features Gastón Pauls
Gastón Pauls
Gaston Pauls is an Argentina actor, TV host and producer. He started his career on television as a host of a videoclip show before starring in the teen soap opera Montaña Rusa, where he met Nancy Duplaa whom he dated for a few years...
, Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín
Ricardo Darín is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and film director.Darín is one of the biggest movie stars in Argentina. He played a number of parts in TV series for several years where he became popular as a young leading actor...
, Leticia Brédice
Leticia Brédice
Leticia Marcela Brédice is an Argentine award-winning actress. She was born in Buenos Aires, though her birthdate has been reported as both August 26, 1972 and December 26, 1972. She and Juan Pablo Sanguinetti had a son, Indio, on August 11, 2005....
, and Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi
Tomás Fonzi is an Argentine actor, appearing either as recurrent actor or guest-star in many TV series, as well as films of international acclaim, like Nueve Reinas and Kamchatka ....
, among others.
The film was nominated for 28 awards and won 21 of them.
It tells the story of two con artists who meet, apparently randomly, and decide to cooperate in a scam.
Plot
The film opens at a convenience store early in the morning. Juan, a con artist, successfully scams the cashier, but later messes up by attempting the same scam again on the next shift. Marcos, who has been observing the whole time, steps in pretending to be a police officer and takes Juan away. As soon as they are far enough from the shop, Marcos tells Juan he is not actually a cop but a fellow con man. Juan asks Marcos to show him the ropes, because his father, also a con man, is in jail and he needs to raise money to bribe the judge to reduce his father's sentence to six months from ten years.Then a rare scheme seemingly falls into their laps: a former business associate of Marcos convinces them to sell counterfeit copies he made of some rare stamps
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
called "The Nine Queens". The potential mark is Gandolfo, a rich Spaniard who is facing deportation and desperate to smuggle his wealth out of the country. He is unable to fully check if the stamps are authentic but he hires an expert to do a quick check and is satisfied. He offers them $450,000 for the stamps, the exchange to take place that evening. In the intervening time, a number of things go wrong. The stamp expert demands a cut, as he knew the stamps were in fact forged. The fake stamps are then stolen out of Juan and Marcos' hands by crooks on a motorcycle who are unaware of their value, destroying them by tossing them into a river.
To salvage the scheme, Juan and Marcos see if they can buy the real stamps from their owner, a widow whom they convince to sell the stamps for $250,000. If they can raise the cash, they figure they can still make a $200,000 profit. Juan initially backs out as he is hesitant to trust Marcos with his money, but at the end of the day he kicks in $50,000 on top of Marcos' $200,000 and they buy the real stamps. That night they go to the buyer's hotel, but he says he has changed his mind and will now only buy the stamps if he also gets to sleep with Marcos' sister, a hotel employee. Marcos convinces his sister Valeria to sleep with the buyer, but in exchange she makes him admit to his younger brother how he swindled him out of his inheritance. The buyer of the stamps pays with a certified check
Certified check
A certified check or certified cheque is a form of check for which the bank verifies that sufficient funds exist in the account to cover the check, and so certifies, at the time the check is written. Those funds are then set aside in the bank's internal account until the check is cashed or returned...
, but the bank crashes
Bank failure
A bank failure occurs when a bank is unable to meet its obligations to its depositors or other creditors because it has become insolvent or too illiquid to meet its liabilities. More specifically, a bank usually fails economically when the market value of its assets declines to a value that is...
the next day, making the check worthless.
It appears that Juan and Marcos are both ruined, but the final scene is a surprise ending. Juan heads back to his warehouse, where he joins everyone except Marcos who was involved in the stamp transaction, relaxing after a successful heist. The entire time, the real scam was to screw Marcos out of $200,000 as revenge for all the times he swindled his family and his partners, and Juan was actually engaged to Valeria, to whom he showed signs of affection throughout the film.
Cast
- Gastón PaulsGastón PaulsGaston Pauls is an Argentina actor, TV host and producer. He started his career on television as a host of a videoclip show before starring in the teen soap opera Montaña Rusa, where he met Nancy Duplaa whom he dated for a few years...
as Juan / Sebastian - Ricardo DarínRicardo DarínRicardo Darín is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and film director.Darín is one of the biggest movie stars in Argentina. He played a number of parts in TV series for several years where he became popular as a young leading actor...
as Marcos - Leticia BrédiceLeticia BrédiceLeticia Marcela Brédice is an Argentine award-winning actress. She was born in Buenos Aires, though her birthdate has been reported as both August 26, 1972 and December 26, 1972. She and Juan Pablo Sanguinetti had a son, Indio, on August 11, 2005....
as Valeria - Tomás FonziTomás FonziTomás Fonzi is an Argentine actor, appearing either as recurrent actor or guest-star in many TV series, as well as films of international acclaim, like Nueve Reinas and Kamchatka ....
as Federico - Graciela Tenenbaum as Convenience Store Employee
- María Mercedes Villagra as Convenience Store Employee 2
- Gabriel Correa as Convenience Store Manager
- Pochi Ducasse as Aunt
- Luis Armesto as Bar Waiter
- Ernesto Arias as Bar Manager
- Amancay Espíndola as Woman in Elevator
- Isaac Fajm as Vendor
- Jorge Noya as Aníbal
- Oscar Nuñez as Sandler
- Ignasi Abadal as Vidal Gandolfo
- Carlos Lanari as Man on Cell Phone
- Alejandro AwadaAlejandro AwadaAlejandro Awada is an Argentine character actor.- Filmography :*Bye Bye Life *Ratón Pérez, El *Suspiros del corazón *El Aura *Tigre escondido, El...
as Washington
Background
The main character of the film is trying to remember the tune of a Rita PavoneRita Pavone
Rita Pavone is an Italian ballad and rock singer who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Pavone is also an actress.-Singing career:...
song throughout the film. The song by Rita Pavone "Il Ballo Del Mattone" plays as the credits run.
Distribution
The film opened wide in Argentina on August 31, 2000. The film was screened at various film festivals, including: the Telluride Film FestivalTelluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
, USA; the Toronto Film Festival, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; the Medellín de Película, 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 Portland International Film Festival, United States; the Cognac Festival du Film Policier, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; the München Fantasy Filmfest, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
; the Norwegian International Film Festival
Norwegian International Film Festival
The Norwegian International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Haugesund, Norway. The festival goes back to 1973.In 1985, the Amanda award was instituted. The Amanda is awarded every year at the festival in different movie categories...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
; and others.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
it opened on a limited basis on April 19, 2002.
Remake
The film's screenplay was adapted in the 20042004 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...
film Criminal
Criminal (film)
Criminal is a 2004 American film based upon the Argentine film Nine Queens. Directed by Gregory Jacobs, it stars John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Maeve Quinlan and is a production of Section Eight, the production company of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney.-Plot:John C. Reilly...
. It was also used as a basis for the following Indian films: the Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film Bluffmaster! (2005) and the Malayalam film Gulumal (2009).
Critical reception
Film critic Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
liked the screenplay of the film, and wrote, "And on and on, around and around, in an elegant and sly deadpan comedy. A plot, however clever, is only the clockwork; what matters is what kind of time a movie tells. Nine Queens is blessed with a gallery of well-drawn character roles, including the alcoholic mark and his two bodyguards; the avaricious widow who owns the "nine queens" and her much younger bleached-blond boyfriend, and Valeria the sister, who opposes Marcos' seamy friends and life of crime but might be willing to sleep with Gandolfo if she can share in the spoils."
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
film critic, Edward Guthmann, also reviewed the film positively and thought the actors performed quite well, writing, "Fast-paced and unerringly surprising, Nine Queens is nicely performed by a large cast, particularly Darín (El hijo de la novia) as a goateed, less-than- perfect hoodwinker. David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
plowed this con-the-con turf in Heist
Heist (film)
Heist is a 2001 crime film, written and directed by David Mamet, which stars Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, and Sam Rockwell.-Plot:...
, House of Games
House of Games
House of Games is David Mamet's 1987 film directorial debut. Mamet wrote the screenplay himself, from a story he devised with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh.-Plot:...
and The Spanish Prisoner
The Spanish Prisoner
The Spanish Prisoner is a 1997 American suspense film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara and Ricky Jay...
, but Bielinsky, in his directing debut, makes it seem sassy and reinvented."
Awards
Wins- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Actor, Ricardo Darín; Best Cinematography, Marcelo Camorino; Best Director, Fabián Bielinsky; Best Editing, Sergio Zottola; Best Film; Best Original Screenplay, Fabián Bielinsky; Best Supporting Actress, Elsa Berenguer; 2001.
- Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema: Best Actor, (tie) Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls; for Nueve reinas; 2001.
- Bogotá Film Festival: Audience Award, Fabián Bielinsky; Golden Precolumbian Circle, Best Director, Fabián Bielinsky; 2001.
- Lima Latin American Film Festival: Elcine First Prize, Fabián Bielinsky; 2001.
- 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...
: Audience Award, Fabián Bielinsky; Best Director, Fabián Bielinsky; 2001. - Oslo Films from the South Festival: Audience Award, Fabián Bielinsky; 2001.
- Cognac Festival du Film Policier: Grand Prix, Fabián Bielinsky; Premiere Award, Fabián Bielinsky; 2002.
- FantasportoFantasportoFantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
: Directors' Week Award, Best Screenplay, Fabián Bielinsky; 2002. - Portland International Film Festival: Audience Award Best First Film, Fabián Bielinsky; 2002.
- Sant Jordi Awards: Sant Jordi; Best Foreign Actor, Ricardo Darín. Also for La FugaLa FugaLa Fuga is an Argentine 2001 film directed by Eduardo Mignogna.The picture stars Mignogna's friend and frequent collaborator, Ricardo Darin, as well as Miguel Angel Sola, Gerardo Romano, Patricio Contreras, Ines Estevez, Alejandro Awada and Norma Aleandro.-Plot:In the summer of 1928, seven inmates...
(2001) and El Hijo de la Novia (2001); 2002.
External links
- Nueve reinas 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...