''Intimate Stories'' ( Spanish: ''Historias mínimas'') is a 2002 Argentine-Spanish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Carlos Sorín and written by Pablo Solarz. The film was produced by Martin Bardi, Leticia Cristi, and José María Morales. It features, among others, Javier Lombardo, Antonio Benedicti and Javiera Bravo. This road movie chronicles three individual yet intertwined stories of ordinary people striving to follow their dreams in life. The picture unfolds in the southern Argentine region of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, and it was filmed in the Santa Cruz Province,

. The film captures many small details that make a realistic and moving depiction of life in southern Argentina.

Synopsis

The story follows three different persons travelling the Argentine Patagonia. The first is Don Justo, an elderly man who hands over the running of his

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

to his overbearing son and daughter-in-law and escapes to search for his lost dog, named Badface. The second, Roberto, is a love-struck obsessive-compulsive traveling salesman who drives to San Julián, to surprise one of his clients by bringing a cake for her child's birthday. Finally, María Flores is a lower class woman who travels to San Julián with her daughter because she has won a spot on "Multicoloured Casino", a fusty TV game show.

Cast

* Javier Lombardo as Roberto * Antonio Benedicti as Don Justo Benedictis * Javiera Bravo as María Flores * Julia Solomonoff as Julia * Laura Vagnoni as Estela * Enrique Otranto as Carlos * Mariela Díaz as María's friend * María Rosa Cianferoni as Ana * María del Carmen Jiménez as Female Baker * César García as García * Armando Grimaldi as El mesero * Mario Splanguño as Panadero * Rosa Valsecchi as Panadera #2 * Aníbal Maldonado as Fermín

Production

Casting

In a neo-realist fashion, the film director used mostly non-professional actors; the only professional actor was Javier Lombardo (Roberto).

Distribution

The film was first presented at the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on September 26, 2002, and was released in Argentina on October 24, 2002. It was featured at various film festivals, including the

International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

; the Latin America Film Festival,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

; the Karlovy Vary Film Festival,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

; the Copenhagen International Film Festival,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

; the Bergen International Film Festival,

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; the Spanish Film Festival,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

; Havana Film Festival,

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; the Cartagena Film Festival,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

; the Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival,

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; the Fribourg International Film Festival,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

; the Tromsø International Film Festival,

, and the Uruguay International Film Festival,

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In the United States it was shown at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in January, 2003, then released in

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on March 4, 2005.

Critical reception

Tom Dawson, film critic for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

wrote, "Patagonian landscapes with the modesty of his characters' aspirations, Sorín has crafted an appealing portrait of this remote region, where television provides the inhabitants with their main link to the wider world. Convincingly acted by the mainly non-professional cast, ''Historias mínimas'' is further proof of the diversity and strength of contemporary Argentine cinema." Ed Gonzales, a critic for ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

,'' liked Carlos Sorín's directorial work, and the film reminded him of some well-regarded American directors: "It's the film's crisscrossing narrative and sense of community that brings to mind Altman's '' Short Cuts,'' but the pursuit of enlightenment and the poetic texture of Sorín's images similarly evokes Lynch's '' The Straight Story.'' Quiet and unpretentious, the film's humanism isn't confrontational exactly but it's intense nonetheless."Gonzales, Ed
. ''

,'' film review, 2004.

Awards

Wins * Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival:

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Prize – Special Mention (Carlos Sorín); SIGNIS Award – Special Mention (Carlos Sorín); and Special Prize of the Jury (Carlos Sorín); 2002. * Havana Film Festival: Grand Coral – Second Prize (Carlos Sorín); Martin Luther King Memorial Center Award (Carlos Sorín); 2002. * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor for best director (Carlos Sorín); Best Film; Best Music (Nicolás Sorín); Best Male (Antonio Benedicti); Best Original Script (Pablo Solarz); Best Artistic Direction (Margarita Jusid); Best Cinematography (Hugo Colace); and Best Sound (Carlos Abbate and José Luis Díaz); 2003. * Cartagena Film Festival: Special Jury Prize (Carlos Sorín); 2003. * Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival: Golden Dolphin (Carlos Sorín); 2003. * Fribourg International Film Festival: ''Grand Prix'' (Carlos Sorín); 2003. * Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival: Best Film; 2003. * Tromsø International Film Festival: Aurora Award – Special Mention (Carlos Sorín); 2003. * Uruguay International Film Festival: Best Film; 2003. * Uruguayan Film Critics Association Awards 2003: Best Latinamerican film; 2003. *

Goya Awards The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

: Best foreign Spanish language film; 2004. Nominations * San Sebastián International Film Festival: Golden Seashell, Carlos Sorín; 2002. * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Editing, Mohamed Rajid; Best New Actress, Javiera Bravo; Best New Actress, Julia Solomonoff; Best Supporting Actor, Javier Lombardo; 2003. * Cartagena Film Festival: Golden India Catalina, Best Film, Carlos Sorín; 2003. * Ariel Awards, Mexico: Silver Ariel, Best Latin-American Film, Carlos Sorín, Argentina; 2004.

References

External links

*
''Historias mínimas''
at the

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, television programs, directors, actor ...

* {{Authority control 2002 films 2000s drama road movies Films shot in Argentina Argentine independent films Spanish drama road movies 2002 independent films Films about social realism 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish independent films Films directed by Carlos Sorín 2002 drama films Spanish-language drama films