Valentin (2002)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The world, as seen from the very adult eyes and precocious mind of Valentin, an 8-year old boy living with grandmother (Carmen Maura) while his father goes from girlfriend to girlfriend, can be a somewhat alienating place. Especially when the grandmother constantly talks to herself and complains about everything around her and his father is barely there. He's aware that his grandmother, despite her abrasive temper, loves him, but she's not a real mother to him. His mother, as Valentin has been told, ran off with someone else and will not see him. And her mere suggestion will tick off his father's ugly, violent streak.However, what seems to be the basis of a story that might have overtones of James Baldwin's style becomes something totally different, almost lyrical. Valentin, despite being surrounded by negative energy, is quite resilient in the way not many children may be. His conversations with his Uncle Chiche in regards to women's beauty (because he longs to see his own father settle down), as well as his growing friendship with Rufo, a musician, are steps to his own acceptance in his world. However, it's with his meeting with Leticia (Julieta Cardinali) that he discovers a kindred spirit, even a temporary, surrogate mother.Their encounter is literally bursting in a bubble of enormous poignancy that threatens to overwhelm the camera lens capturing its story. It's as if Agresti wanted to really focus in on this particular moment in time when everything seemed perfect... and in his own interview, he states that this was the event that led to the making of his story. With exquisite period pop music, they meet and go to the movies, where they bond, and in a gesture of near-infinite compassion, Leticia smiles down at Valentin as he enjoys the movie. Later on he confides a truth about his father that brings tears to her eyes... and in a quiet moment in the park, they promise never to speak of this to anyone -- not even Valentin's father.Of course, Leticia does tell his father -- even when in a heartbreaking scene, she denies this to Valentin even though her body language suggests otherwise. It's here when Valentin has his only burst of rage: he's a child caught in the middle, being called derogatory names, and he's tired of it. All he wants is the love of a mother.VALENTIN boasts the presence of Carmen Maura, an Almodovar veteran. Her presence is that of a woman who clearly loves her grandson, but has become so bitter with life due to the destinies of her two sons and the death of her husband that her health, and possibly her sanity, is failing. She is not a one-note crusty old lady: one scene tells pages of who she is, who she was, and how deeply she misses the man of her life. Agresti himself is fearsome as the father. He is a man who no one wants to mess with because his temper is out the window, and later revelations from Leticia and a crucial character Valentin meets near the end of the film point at his abusive, possibly even psychotic nature.The young actor playing Valentin, however, is an inspired choice. More so in a time when child actors tend to read their lines instead of actually feeling them, Rodrigo Noya, virtually a stand-in for Agresti himself, may not know the realities of acting at a technical level, but he plays his part with maturity, and his reactions never border on cute. His rendition of Valentin is that of a boy who knows what he wants to be when he grows up, one who wants to solve people's problems and make things better (even when this may bring his into trouble), but one who isn't quite aware of people's prejudices as with the Anti-Semitism that pervades throughout some of the story's characters.It's a good move for Agresti to not move into explaining certain details of the plot's resolution. (In this respect it pays to know Spanish and read between the lines.) Valentin's quest for a mother ends more than satisfying, and even when his destiny seems to be unclear, his omniscient narration leads the audience to understand that things will be better for him. After all... is not an astronaut, he can very well become a writer, and that writer is Agresti himself. And that has to account for something.

Masterful story telling. I had forgotten I was reading subtitles...I Laughed, I cried .... The child was brilliant...all performances were credible/believable...It was a realistic film in representing life and the simple joys and sorrows we all experience in one degree or another. Faith hope love disappointment, loss and disillusion. The director did a great job as did the cinematographer... I wish I had not come on this film by surprise... I believe it deserved more press than it received. on the cd The interview from the director was also enlightening...on argentina, life love and more. Anyhoo...enjoy...when a good hearted film is what your in the mood for.

This is one of the very few movies I really love these past couple of years. Rodrigo Noya's Valentin is such a smart, funny and sad 8 year old boy. Everything he says gives you a smile and a little twist in the heart. He's like the old lady who lives alone and says she doesn't mind being alone but asks you to stay a little longer because she's baked dozens of cookies which nobody will eat. Rodrigo Noya is such an excellent actor that every nuance is caught thought his expressions, body language. The adults around him all act selfishly, but it's so realistic because we all are self-centered beings, and children sometimes are just treated like things that happened to be there. I love this movie so much I am recommending it to every people I know.

Seeing the trailer for "Valentin" multiple times at my local art house theater in Oregon I was reminded of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," an old American television series that starred Bill Bixby as widower father whose adorable seven-year-old son was determined to find a mother by marrying Dad off.Valentin, played by the cross-eyed eight-year-old Rodrigo Noya, is just as adorable as child actor Brandon Cruz was in the American show. And like Eddie, Valentin has a colorful mother figure, a grandmother played by Carmen Maura. (The American Eddie had "Mrs. Livingston", a Japanese American housekeeper to look after him.) And while Valentin is given plenty of comic routines to perform -- Laugh as Valentin explodes a television set! Grin as Valentin dresses up as an astronaut! -- as we watch him try to cement his Dad's engagement to Leticia, a new girlfriend played by the gorgeous Julieta Cardinali, this movie isn't the heartwarming comedy the trailer promises. So be prepared for some dark moments as you watch Valentin fulfill his promise as a matchmaker.Nonetheless, this movie has its appeal, especially I imagine for Argentines who were children in 1969 Buenos Aires where the story is set. In fact, the city often looks, well, just plain cute, as spotless vintage cars glide in and out of the background while actors dressed in the styles of the period go about their jobs.Watching the charming and nostalgic "Valentin", it's no wonder that director Agresti says in an interview on the movie's DVD that many Argentines of a certain age – especially given the troubled times that befell the country in the 1970s and 1980s – consider 1969 "the country's last good year." 7/10