Nine Queens
Screening: 20th October 2003
Argentina 2001 (subtitles)
Directed by Fabián Bielinsky
Leading players ~ Gastón Pauls, Ricardo Darín, Leticia Brédice.
Synopsis
Nine Queens is the story of two small-time swindlers (don’t nod off just yet), Juan (Gastón Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darin), who team up after meeting in a shop and become involved in what could potentially be the biggest deal of their lives.Marcos spots Juan succeeding and then failing with two separate cashiers as he tries to pull off a standard note changing scam. Marcos takes it upon himself to bail out this fellow swindler, pretending to be a policeman. On leaving the shop Marcos reveals himself to be in the same crooked game and they embark on a series of low-level scams.
Juan is skeptical but after seeing Marcos perform a few more sophisticated grifts they become the archetypal partners in crime. And then comes the BIG scam. The one that will change the world, or at least the world they live in. This scam-of-a-lifetime involves the selling of a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. What follows is a who’s who of seedy crime as a cast of dodgy characters enter stage left and send the film into a spin that is entertaining and very watchable.
* * * * * *
This is a highly accomplished film that is worth seeing just to watch an action, crime, buddy movie that is intelligent. All the clichés are left off stage or on the cutting room floor as a maze of script, dialogue and characterization enthralls and keeps the audience wanting solutions and resolutions. And watch it to restore your belief in the spoken word…or acting if you prefer.
