Today and Tomorrow (2004)

Great Film overall

Fantastic!

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The performance by Antonella Costa is just superb, however there are some problems with the plot and how the story develops. The movie catches with singular dramatic intensity the consequences of economic crisis in Argentina and its effects on many young female. Of course, the effects of such crises are not exclusive of Argentina. They repeat with terrifying regularity all over Latin America.It is a movie with brains made on a low-low budget, and that is why it is killed by the whole scene on the elevator. I will not elaborate on the details of such scene, but any person that has ever used an elevator in Argentina or in any other country of the world knows that elevators do not do that. There were many ways to achieve the dramatic purposes of such scene without doing what Chomski did. I will also add to my criticism the fact that having that beautiful city that is Buenos Aires as a background, the movie uses little or nothing of it. That is a shame because the city offers many opportunities to develop good cinematography without spending too much.Overall good on the performance of Antonella, great on the underlying criticism of the economic situation in Argentina, but a flaw that kind of kill the movie as an artistic exercise.

It was an interesting picture, sure it shows a struggling actress trying to make ends meet. She turns to prostitution as a last resort to pay 4 months of back rent at 300 pesos each. She turns tricks for 50 pesos, then 100 pesos, then 200 and finally 300 pesos. All she wants is the money and does not care how she gets it.Where the movie falls apart for me is that she is with 1 john here and then another john and then she meets her boyfriend, gets robbed, and then goes back out and performs sex on the same fellow as a few hours before, all in the same night. She then is raped and tortured and all of this in less than 12 hours.It just seems far fetched and would have been better to put some real life in the character. Too often she plays a robot and acts as if men really get her a drink and then she says, "It's 200 and I am working" and these dopes fall for her. Shameless!

This Argentine film came as a total surprise when it was shown in a cable channel recently. Alejandro Chomski has directed the film, which presents us with a young woman at a point in her life, so bleak, that appears hopeless.If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.The beautiful Antonella Costa, is Paula, an aspiring actress and a waitress in a restaurant. When we first meet her, she is seen in a restless state trying to get money from the ATM, without any luck. In a way, she must be expecting a miracle, knowing full well there is no money in the account. To make matters worse, the play she is seen rehearsing, will not open in a while and she loses her job at the bistro because she's been late three times, recently.The film follows Paula through the streets of Buenos Aires trying to get a kind soul to lend her money to help her pay the back rent she owes to a landlord that wants her to give him what she owes. Everyone she asks to help, can't do anything for her. Even her own father, questions her instead of being kind. In desperation, Paula goes to see a friend who is a prostitute. She feels that she will be able to get the funds she needs in order to survive by taking to the streets with this young woman. Things go from bad to worse. Everything she touches turns out to be wrong. The people she meets are predators that want their money's worth; they all use Paula to satisfy their own needs. The only kind soul she meets appears to be Raul, the Spaniard executive, but Paula doesn't want any part of him.This film reflects the reality in Argentina in the turmoil that followed recent catastrophic government measures that left the people impoverished and unemployed because of the hard times the country was going through. That anxiety and despair is what we see in young Paula. There is not a ray of hope, which was the point Mr. Chomski, the director was trying to make.The film owes everything to one of the most amazing performances by an actress in recent memory: Antonella Costa. She is the embodiment of Paula, the young woman at the center of the story. It's painful, at times, to watch what Paula is going through in front of our eyes. Yet, the film ends with a moment of reflexion and perhaps hope, as Paula gets out of the taxi that is taking her home, after a hard night, and she faces the immensity of the river as the sun is rising in the distance. In fact, we realize at this moment that Paula and the country she represents, will survive.Watch this movie in order to see the magnificent young actress, Antonella Costa!

This movie was shown as part of "A certain regard" in Cannes Film Festival this year (2003). It was well received by the critics and shows that Antonella Costa (Garage Olimpo, Figli/Hijos) is an excellent actress and that she has a bright future. The movie is a reflection of the crisis in Argentina which lead people to do things that normally should not happen. It is Alejandro Chomsky's first feature, and was obviously finished before the new Argentinian president's election. Fortunately, although still a bit too early to be sure, there are some encouraging signs of optimism in Argentina. Anyway the economical situation is still critical and the unemployment (in a certain way one of the movie's subject) is always very high in Argentina. This movie shows that there is a lot of young talent in this country. Let's hope it will be released abroad.