''Puzzle'' ( es, Rompecabezas) is a 2010 Argentine

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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Natalia Smirnoff. It was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama ''Apart Together'', in com ...

Plot

A middle-aged housewife, Maria del Carmen (Maria Onetto), suddenly finds she has a gift for assembling puzzles. Unbeknownst to her husband ( Gabriel Goity) and two college-age sons, she begins practicing for a tournament with a man (

Arturo Goetz Arturo L. Goetz (24 June 1944 – 28 July 2014) was an Argentine film actor. He worked in the cinema of Argentina. He studied for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1971 to 1974, and published his findings ...

) she met through an ad in a puzzle shop. The thrill "of a woman discovering her special gift and rejoicing in it" is just one of the surprises in store for Maria, as she starts to look differently at the pieces of her life, and to try new things.

Cast

* María Onetto * Arturo Goetz * Gabriel Goity * Henny Trayles * Mirta Wons

Reception

Critical reception to the film was mostly positive, according to reviews cited at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

, with the notable exception of V.A. Musetto in the

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who said, "If the plot of the Argentine soaper ''Puzzle'' seems familiar, that's because it's nearly identical to the story in the French movie ''

Queen To Play ''Queen to Play'' (original title ''Joueuse'', the feminine form of “player”) is a 2009 French-German film directed by Caroline Bottaro. It is based on the novel ''La Joueuse d’échecs'' by Bertina Henrichs. Synopsis The film stars Sandrin ...

''." Comparing this film to

Lucrecia Martel Lucrecia Martel (born December 14, 1966) is an Argentine film director, screenwriter and producer whose feature films have frequented Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, and many other international film festivals. Film scholar Paul Julian Smith w ...

's ''The Headless Woman'', in which Maria Onetto starred in 2008,

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

said, "Although ''Puzzle'' is a much smaller, less ambitious film without the ominous political subtext of Ms. Martel's masterwork, its story...has implications about sexual inequality in Argentina's middle class." Holden also notes that Smirnoff served as Martel's casting director on the 2008 film.

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

says, "its conclusion is pleasing and not at all pat, a portrait of a woman who's learned she deserves to keep some things for herself."

American remake

An American version has been shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. The film, directed by

Marc Turtletaub Marc Jay Turtletaub (born January 30, 1946) is an American film producer and former president and CEO of The Money Store. Early life and education Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, he grew up in Perth Amboy, New JerseyOrtner, Sherry, B''Not Hollyw ...

, stars

Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in ''Trainspotting'' (1996), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Intermission'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwalk E ...

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in I ...

, and

David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include '' Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', '' Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', ...

, based on a script by

Oren Moverman Oren Moverman ( he, אורן מוברמן; born July 4, 1966) is an Israeli-American Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, film director, and Emmy Award-winning film producer. He has directed the films '' The Messenger'', ''Rampart'', '' Time O ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puzzle 2010 films 2010s Spanish-language films 2010 drama films Films directed by Natalia Smirnoff Argentine drama films 2010s Argentine films