''Moon of Avellaneda'' (, also known as ''Avellaneda's Moon'' in English) is a 2004 Argentine

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Juan José Campanella Juan José Campanella (born 19 July 1959) is an Argentine television and film director, writer and producer. He achieved worldwide attention with the release of '' The Secret in Their Eyes'' (2009), for which he was awarded the Academy Award for ...

, and written by Campanella, Fernando Castets and Juan Pablo Domenech. It stars

Ricardo Darín Ricardo Alberto Darín (born 16 January 1957) is an Argentine actor, film director and film producer, considered one of the best and most prolific actors of Argentine cinema. Considered one of the greatest and most acclaimed movie stars of his ...

in his third collaboration with Campanella and Eduardo Blanco in his fourth collaboration, as well as

Mercedes Morán Mercedes Beatriz Morán (; born 1955) is an Argentine actress, known for her role in the television miniseries '' Culpables''. Early life and career Morán was born in Concarán, San Luis Province in 1955. Her mother was an "ultra-Catholic" r ...

and

Valeria Bertuccelli Mónica Valeria Bertuccelli (born 30 November 1969) is an Argentine actress, director and writer. Born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, she began her career in experimental theatre, and later worked in the San ...

Plot

Román Maldonado (

) was born during a carnival fair held at "Luna de Avellaneda", a sports and social club located in

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. He is made a member for life, and the club becomes a central part of his life. The club used to have over 8,000 members in its heyday, but in the 2000s membership has dwindled to some 300. The neighbourhood is decaying, the surviving inhabitants are struggling financially and gatherings are hardly what they used to be. To top things off, Román discovers his wife Verónica is having an affair, and their marriage finds itself at its worst. Together with Amadeo Grimberg ( Eduardo Blanco) and Graciela (

), friends from the club, he must fight for the survival of the place before it is sold off and turned into a casino. The film chronicles the ups and downs of this fight, as well as Amadeo's struggling relationship with Cristina (

), Román's family crisis and the difficulties Graciela has after her husband leaves. In the end, a vote to keep the club alive is defeated 33 to 26, and the main characters find themselves parting ways in a bittersweet manner. The ending is however upbeat, as Román finds hope in finding his old club membership card, and together with Amadeo hints that they will start a new one.

Cast

as Román Maldonado * Eduardo Blanco as Amadeo Grimberg *

as Graciela *

as Cristina * Silvia Kutika as Verónica *

José Luis López Vázquez José Luis López Vázquez de la Torre Medal of Merit in Labour, MMT (11 March 1922 – 2 November 2009) was a Spanish actor, comedian, costume designer, scenic designer, and assistant director whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He was ...

as Don Aquiles * Daniel Fanego as Alejandro * Atilio Pozzobon as Atilio * Horacio Peña as Julio * María Victoria Biscay as Macarena * Francisco Fernández De Rosa as Darío * Micaela Moreno as Dalma * Alan Sabbagh as Ismael * Sofia Bertolotto as Yanina, Dario's girlfriend * Ezequiel Merlino as Bruno

Awards

Clarin Entertainment Awards Clarin or Clarín may refer to: Geography *Clarin, Bohol, a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines *Clarin, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the province of Misamis Occidental, Philippines *River Clarin, a river in Ireland Media ...

: Clarin Award, Best Supporting Actor - Film (Cine: Mejor Actor de reparto), Eduardo Blanco; 2004. *

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiv ...

: Coral, Sound, José Luis Díaz; 2004. Nominations *

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 ...

: Goya, Best Spanish Language Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera de Habla Hispana), Juan José Campanella, Argentina; 2004.

Inspiration

The film is inspired by a real club, the "Club Juventud Unida de Llavallol" of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, in which much of its scenes were filmed and also in real situations that occurred at the time of the 2001 Argentina crisis, that are represented in the film as everyday dramas suffered by a society which purchasing power and subsistence collapsed when incomes were not enough to pay even for basic services (gas, water, electricity), while the club struggles, trying to resist, against the onslaught of the debt-burdened economy.

References

External links

*
''Moon of Avellaneda''
at

Cinenacional 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, actors, ...

''Moon of Avellaneda''
film review by Josefina Sartora at Cineismo * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Of Avellaneda 2004 films 2004 comedy-drama films Argentine comedy-drama films Films directed by Juan José Campanella Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films Films shot in Buenos Aires Films set in Buenos Aires 2004 independent films 2000s Argentine films Spanish-language comedy-drama films Spanish-language independent films