Bolivia (2003)

Synopsis: A timely and urgent feature, rich in ideas and sensibility, Bolivia portrays, through an intimate look at its characters, an Argentina in a state of social emergency. The film was born from a... A timely and urgent feature, rich in ideas and sensibility, Bolivia portrays, through an intimate look at its characters, an Argentina in a state of social emergency. The film was born from a story written by Romina Lafranchini. Made with a minimal budget, which required three years of discontinuous filming, the film is set in a bar that was made available to Caetano on different days and at different times in the lower-middle class Buenos Aires suburb of Villa Crespo. Although never able to film for more than three days at a time for budget reasons, the thread of the story is perfectly continuous. With asceticism and a power of synthesis which enables the director to give an ample human portrait of the characters, Caetano calls attention to the pressing social reality of a country in the brink of plummeting. Bolivia tells the story of Freddy, an illegal immigrant who has left Bolivia, his home and his family to try his luck in Argentina, where he hopes to build a future in which they can be reunited. He lands a job as a cook in a restaurant where the owner is happy to flout the law in order to secure cheap labor and where Freddy meets the characters that will change the course of his life - a Paraguayan waitress, a traveling salesman from the province of Córdoba, two Buenos Aires -porteño- taxi drivers and one of the driver's buddies. The interactions between Freddy, his co-workers and the regular clientele unfold into a low key but deeply humane drama, in which prejudice and discrimination are commonplace, and rare glimpses of warmth all the more precious because of this. With strong performances, a concise narrative and impeccable camera work, Bolivia explores issues of xenophobia and social violence in Argentina. -- © Cinema Tropical [More]

Starring: Freddy Flores, Rosa Sanchez, Oscar Bertea, Enrique Liporace

Starring: Freddy Flores, Rosa Sanchez, Oscar Bertea, Enrique Liporace, Marcelo Videla, Hector Anglada, Alberto Mercado

Director: Adrian Caetano

Director: Adrian Caetano
Screenwriter: Adrian Caetano
Story: Romina Lafranchini
Producer: Roberto Ferro
Studio: Cinema Tropical

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