Hola CineLocos... Father Geek aqui... I haven't received any info directly for this column this week so to avoid any repeticion inutil I'll just turn you over to Coffin Joe Jr down in Sao Paulo straight away...

Hello, Coffin Joe Jr. here for another week of Latin-AICN.

I know there was no column last week, no need to remind me, I had some problems with my server, my mom forgot to pay the bill, so I couldn´t access my e-mail until late Friday, so I just gave up sending anything to Father Geek. Anyway, without further ado, dig in my creepy little fiends.

ARGENTINA

-Actress Cecilia Roth ("All About my Mother") has a new project currently in production, called "Deseo", directed by Gerardo Vera from a script written by Ángeles Caso. The cast includes Ernesto Alterio, Leonardo Sbaraglia and María Vázquez. The film was shot in Madrid and Costa da Morte, in Spain. I got no further details on this one, but as soon as I get a plot description I´ll post it.

BRAZIL

-The annual National Board of Review awards were announced and there was some good news for director Walter Salles ("Central Station"). His latest film "Behind the Sun", was voted as the second best foreign film of the year, behind Mexico´s "Amores Perros". The good news is that "Amores Perros" was up for the Oscars this year and won´t be in next year´s ceremony, so Salles´ film has a good chance to be one of the five movie´s selected for next year´s best foreign film race at the Academy Awards. The other big contender is the French sensation "Amelie", which has already opened in the U.S., and is doing great business. Both films are being distributed in the U.S. by Miramax. Check out the official site of the movie "Behind the Sun" at this address: Just Click Here to Go There

COFFIN JOE JR. MOVIE REVIEWS

"Plata Quemada" (Argentina - 2000) Director: Marcelo Piñeyro

This one starts in Argentina, circa 1965. Two men are on the run looking for a place to hide, after a heist they tried to pull off goes wrong. They hide out in a prostitute´s apartment, in Montevideo, Uruguay, and they need false passports to get out of the country, and from then on a waiting/survival game begins, which goes on until the cops show up, and then we have ourselves one huge fuckin´ mess, and an unbelievable final reel. That´s basically the plot of "Plata Quemada".

I think this movie, which opened here in Brazil recently, is just as good as the other crime flick from Argentina I saw this year, the great "Nueve Reinas". "Plata Quemada" has more action in it than "Nueve Reinas", and shifts gears between an ensemble piece, film noir and action pic. It´s all cool stuff, very disturbing and explicit sometimes, certainly not a flick for kids. The subject of male bonding is taken one step further in this movie, it´s a buddy movie where the buddies are, you know, really, really good buddies. It is certainly an interesting, different spin on the two lovers on the run genre. It is sort of a gay Bonnie & Clyde type of story.

Eduardo Noriega ("Open your Eyes", "The Devil´s Backbone") and Leonardo Sbaraglia ("Cenizas del Paraíso") play the two lovers and they are pretty good, handling the material well most of the time.

There are a few scenes where things get really strong, with sex, drugs, violence, you know the works, and some of them are pointless, but are entertaining nonetheless, in a sleazy sort of way. The final showdown is very, very cool. "Hard Boiled"/"A Better Tomorrow 2", kind of cool. Bullets flying baby. Blood flowing. Neat stuff.

A minor complaint I have is the storytelling skills of director Piñeyro, sometimes things got confusing, moving too quickly, the pace could be a bit slower, with some exposition to calm things down every once in a while and gives the audience some information as to what the hell is going on. One final note, just before I go, I need to point out the absolutely killer title sequence, I mean congrats to director Piñeyro and whoever designed it, really amazing work.

I´m done for this week.

Coffin Joe Jr. says: bye.