Moon of Avellaneda (2004)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This movie reflects the reality of a decadent Argentinean present, after the golden year when immigrants would find a land full of opportunities. "Luna de Avellaneda" is about the neighbors of a club(very popular social recreational Argentinean icons) in the suburbs of Buenos Aires trying to save it from an becoming a casino. The characters will have to decide whether they let the club (and its history of prosperity) go in order for them to have a job opportunity. This film reflects the sad moments Argentina is going through, and the despair of a group of people trying to hold back their dignity. As an Argentinean I cannot help having a bittersweet taste after watching this excellent movie.

First off I don't agree with some of this previous comments especially a few from Argentina that have said that this film is not the best work of Darín or Campanella or that it is a disappointment. I thought the film is a gem, a fearless reality based yet humorous human drama. There are no easy answers because it does not sugarcoat the economic problems Argentina has and yet hope is kept alive on the simple fact that they are still alive. This film celebrates life like no other film I've seen. Not since "One flew over the cuckoos nest" has there been so much joy to simply being alive even in the most oppressing conditions. The film doesn't say "Hey, listen to this, this is the solution and the best argument against the problems that plague us" The guy offering solutions to the members of the club is seeing as a "bad guy" but suddenly he is making more sense than the "good guy".Not Darín's best work? WHAT! Just that scene when he watches the little girl dancing ballet moves me to tears thinking about it. Blanco is great comic energy. Everyone is very good. Blanco and Darín should make an all out comedy. They have the rapport that I've seen Joe Pesci and Roberto DeNiro have in scenes together. They make it seem so easy. Anyway see this film and VIVA ARGENTINA CINEMA!!

I have seen the movie at the Montreal Film Festival. I am not Argentine and don't speak Spanish. It is, however, one of the ten best movies I have seen in my life. Argentines can rest assured that this will be as powerful abroad as it seems to be down there. Rarely have I seen an audience enjoy a movie so much, thelaughter, the emotion, the high sense of humanity. It is certainly one of the most, if not the most, popular movie in the Festival. Intelligent, timely, human,incredibly witty, deeply emotional. A movie that makes you happy to belong to the human race.Please, wherever you are in the world, if this movie shows up in your localfestival, DON'T MISS IT!!! Anybody can make movies about war and misery andpoverty, but a movie that creates so much warmth and drama from small everyday situations is a gem. It had me crying and laughing and crying and laughing again. The applause at the Festival was thunderous, and so were the reviews.I have not seen "Son Of The Bride" which was a big hit here. I do not want to miss it now. It is refreshing to see that somebody gives us the pleasure to go back to the movies to learn and enjoy life. It's been five days since I've seen it, and I still can't shake it off my mind. I find myself laughing and tearing up in the oddest situations.One of the best movies I've seen in my life.

As a fan of Hijo de la Novia, I found Luna de Avellaneda to be a complete disappointment. When I voiced my mixed feelings about this film to Argentines, they invariably accused me of not understanding the film because I'm not Argentine. I can argue with them on that since I understood the references they were accusing me of missing (the importance of social clubs in Argentine society, the ill-effects of neoliberal privatizations, etc,etc.) but, at the end of the day, a film needs to speak beyond its intended audience. But this is a problem with the ghettoization of national cinemas - faced with steamrolling Hollywood productions that they can't compete with, local industries attempt to counter-program with self-consciously nationalistic productions that attempt to reach the largest possible domestic audience. It's a lose-lose situation since instead of getting challenging foreign films (at the end of the day, the best antidote to Hollywood) we get films like Luna de Avellaneda (or, even worse, Patoruzito). On the bright side, recent years have witnessed a renaissance in Argentina cinema.The film itself is structured around a fairly obvious metaphor - the social club clearly is meant to represent Argentina. A once glorious past is faced with a brutal and uncertain future. In this sense, the film taps into the heavy nostalgia that is pervasive in Argentine culture (ie. the tango). That the social club will be privatized is a clear analogy with the brutal effects of neo-liberal policies in the country over the past two decades. The problems with such heavy-handed symbolism is, well, heavy-handed symbolism.At the end of the day, I don't let Hollywood movies get away with cheap sentimentality, so I certainly won't let foreign films get away with it either.