MundoAndino Home : Andes Argentina Guide at MundoAndino
Waiting for the Messiah
Waiting for the Messiah (2000) is an Argentine, Spanish, and Italian comedy drama film directed by Daniel Burman. The film features Daniel Hendler, Enrique Pineyro, Hector Alterio, Melina Petriella, Stefania Sandrelli, Imanol Arias and Dolores Fonzi, among others.
The picture won many awards including Best Film at the Lleida Latin-American Film Festival in Spain.
Plot
The film takes place in a Jewish community of Buenos Aires.
The picture tells of Ariel (Daniel Hendler), a restaurant waiter and a young man who is torn between his devotion to traditional family ties and the desire for something different, and, of Santamaria (Enrique Pineyro) an older bank employee who suddenly finds his life in complete turmoil.
Santamaria is unexpectedly fired from his bank job due to the world's stock market shocks. His wife takes this event as an opportunity to get rid of him and put him out on the street.
Forced to make a small living returning stolen wallets, Santamaria finds some hope in a bathroom attendant (Stefania Sandrelli) who is waiting for her husband to be released from prison.
Ariel is very much against the restraints of a future that will see him take over his elderly father's (Hector Alterio) restaurant and marry a nice Argentine Jewish girl (Melina Petriella).
At the same time, Ariel is also attracted to a sexy co-worker, Laura (Chiara Caselli), who tells him she's a lesbian.
Background
The title alludes to the Jewish belief of "waiting for the Messiah"; in this case, characters are shown at first to be inactive and dormant, until death and crisis forces them to take action and reevaluate their lives.
Cast
Daniel Hendler as Ariel Goldstein
Enrique Pineyro 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
Dan Adaszko as Albino 1
Ariel Adaszko as Albino 2
Distribution
The film opened wide in Argentina on May 25, 2000.
The picture was then presented at the Toronto Film Festival on September 14, 2000, and later at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 12, 2001.
Awards
Wins
Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain: Critics Association Award; FIPRESCI Prize: For an honest, both realistic and symbolic depiction of human hopes in Buenos Aires today; 2000.
Havana Film Festival: Grand Coral Third Prize; Cuba; 2000.
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Special Award to Enrique Pineyro for his Acting Performance; Argentina; 2000.
Biarritz Film Festival: Audience Award; France; 2000.
Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor; Best Music, Cesar Lerner and Marcelo Moguilevsky; 2001.
Lleida Latin-American Film Festival: Best Film; Daniel Burman; 2001.
Nominations
Bratislava International Film Festival: Grand Prix, Daniel Burman; 2000.
Thessaloniki Film Festival: Golden Alexander, Daniel Burman; 2000.
Valladolid International Film Festival: Golden Spike, Daniel Burman; 2000.
Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Director, Daniel Burman; Best Film; Best New Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best New Actress, Melina Petriella; Best Original Screenplay, Daniel Burman and Emiliano Torres; Best Supporting Actress, Stefania Sandrelli; 2001.
External links
Esperando al mesias at the cinenacional.com .
Esperando al mesias at La Butaca .
Need more information for your travel research or homework?
Ask your questions at the forum about Argentine films or help others to find answers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Waiting for the Messiah
