This little film has everything you need: slightly odd and likeable characters, small everyday stories that turn out to be grand, and a vast, beautiful landscape. HISTORIAS MINIMAS proves that a small budget is enough to make a great film. All you need is believable actors, talented guys behind the camera and a decent script. If you don't mind watching undubbed originals with subtitles and if films like ABOUT SCHMIDT, THE STRAIGHT STORY or ZUGVÖGEL - EINMAL NACH INARI worked for you, HISTORIAS MINIMAS will become one of your favorites soon.
Intimate Stories
2002 [SPANISH]
Action / Comedy / Drama
Plot summary
Three people and a baby set off on separate journeys, along the same road; their disparate dreams and stories intertwine amidst the breathtaking deserted Patagonic route.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
June 13, 2022 at 05:17 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Clear, plausible stories
Three lonelinesses in Patagonian loneliness.
The movie can be seen as a road-movie in the loneliness of the province of Santa Cruz, in South Patagonia.
Each one of the three chief characters, with different kinds of loneliness, look for a light in their future: María, a very poor woman living in an abandoned railway station, is selected for take part in a TV prize program; Don Justo, an old man, looks for his dog lost years ago; Roberto, a road seller of goods, tries to gain the love of a young widow customer. Three simple stories that touch the heart of people because their emotiveness and humor.
This is the second movie of Carlos Sorin in the windy and desert Patagonia ("La Pelicula del Rey" was the former one).
Intimate Histories
Historias mínimas (2002), directed by Carlos Sorin, was shown at Rochester's Dryden Theatre as "Intimate Histories." This film is a small, excellent road movie.
The road is a well-paved but barren stretch of highway between a small village in Patagonia and a larger city. Four people are traveling this road--a young mother with her infant son, an older man, and a traveling salesman. The young mother is going to appear on a televised quiz show. The older man is searching for his dog, and the salesman hopes to impress an attractive widow with his thoughtful gift of a birthday cake for her son.
The stories--and travels--of these people intertwine as they get closer to their destination. Nothing goes exactly as planned, but each character deals with her or his situation in a reasonably successful way.
I was struck by the caring and concern that strangers show for the travelers. I wonder if this is a realistic portrayal of life in Patagonia. If so, it may represent the good side of a frontier mentality--nature isn't going to help us, and the government isn't going to help us, so we have to help each other. (In fact, the only non-helpful people the travelers encounter are the television quiz show staff. The implication could be that once you step away from reality and into show business, kindness disappears.)
All the acting was excellent. The actors appeared to be amateurs, and it takes a skilled director to bring forth great performances from non- professionals. I want to single out the performance of Antonio Benedicti as Don Justo Benedictis, the older man. Don Justo is determined to find his dog, and the sheer power of this determination (along with a supply of yerba mate) carries him forward.
Another reviewer has called this film a small gem, and I agree. It's worth seeking out if you'd enjoy following four people in their difficult Patagonian odysseys.