Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

In the past few years in Latin American cinema, a new wave of filmmakers have been emerging with their modern outlook on their respective countries and fresh storylines. Most recently, Mexican filmmakers Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron have been making waves for Latin American cinema with their respective films “Amores Perros” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, which both became huge hits in Mexico and the Latin American market. The success of those two films channeled a new wave, as both films crossed over to the international market including the U.S. were it received widespread acclaim and modest success in the indie film market. Today, both filmmakers are at the cutting edge of film as Inarritu has won acclaim for his first English-language film "21 Grams” starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio del Toro while Cuaron has just finished filming the third Harry Potter film set for a summer 2004 release entitled “Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban” which many will say will be the best film of the Potter franchise. Another successful film that recently has made its mark in the American indie circuits is a 2000 Argentina con-artist film from Fabian Bielinsky entitled “Nueve Reinas” (“Nine Queens” in Spanish).

“Nueve Reinas” is a fresh, quirky con artist film about two Argentinean con artists trying to swindle a stamp collector into a money scheme by selling a counterfeit version of valuable stamps called “Nine Queens”. Along the way, morals and ambiguity comes along for the two con artists as one of them is forced to deal with his sister, who is furious at him for stealing money from an inheritance she and her little brother was supposed to receive. After some troubles, the two con artists were forced to buy the real version as more questions come along that involve on of the con artists’ sister. Like many con artist films before, the film plays itself with quirky storylines and the idea of who is conning whom but unlike many, “Nueve Reinas” keeps itself fresh with its plot twists, fast-paced Spanish dialogue, and its Argentinean setting. While not up to the level of greatness like “Y Tu Mama Tambien” or “Amores Perros”, “Nueve Reinas” is a fun, fast-paced, smart film that just keeps on guessing on what exactly is going on.

The film begins when a young con artist named Juan (Gaston Pauls) is at a Buenos Aires convenience store trying to swindle money from a clerk. He manage to swindle some from the first clerk but makes a mistake when he does it again on a different clerk where the first saw him trying to pull that same trick. Watching Juan trying to do that trick was a guy named Marcos (Ricardo Darin) who helps resolve matters by having a gun in his pocket and playing cop pretending to take Juan from the convenience store with the money as evidence. After the convenience store trick, Marcos reveals to Juan that the gun he had was a toy gun and was actually going to pull that same trick himself. Juan was relieved that Marcos was a con artist too as they go through Buenos Aires to try and swindle money from anyone. Marcos needed Juan as a partner since his old one had mysteriously disappeared. The two swindle money from many people as they could include at one point, pretending to be a nephew for an old woman.

The two would pull as many tricks as they could including trying to get more money from a restaurant and stealing money from a woman’s purse in two minutes that Juan was betting against Marcos and won a ring. During a coffee break, the two learn of a political diplomat named Vidal Gandolfo (Ignasi Abadal), who is leaving Argentina in 24 hours over criminal charges, is in a hotel that Marcos’ sister is working at. An acquaintance of Marcos told him he got a call from his sister about a man named Sandler (Oscar Nunez) about a scam he wants to pull. Marcos and Juan go to the hotel where they meet up with Marcos’ sister Valeria (Leticia Bredice) who is very angry at Marcos over inheritance problem concerning their grandparents estate where she and little brother Federico (Tomas Fonzi) is supposed to get a share but Marcos manage to get the entire inheritance for himself. Juan is entrance by Valeria’s beauty as the two meet up with Sandler, an old man and expert counterfeiter who is trying to come up with a scam deal for Gandolfo.

Sandler reveals to the men a counterfeit version that he made of rare European stamps called “Nine Queens” that he wants to sell to Gandolfo while the real version is owned by his sister-in-law, who wants to keep since it a reminder of her dead husband. Sandler unfortunately, was too sick to do the deal as he asks Marcos to do the deal. Marcos decides to do it with a 90-10 split in his favor while Sandler passes out as Juan finds himself, unsure if he’ll do the scam since he’s trying to collect some money to get his dad out of prison. Marcos insists that Juan should do it so he can get some money for himself and Juan’s dad as Juan joins in the scam. The two decide to go to the apartment of Sandler where they meet up with his wife (Ceila Juarez) as Juan wins her with his charm and gets the counterfeited stamps.

Marcos and Juan return to the hotel, to Valeria’s disgust but to the delight of her little brother Federico who loves Marcos too much and doesn’t care about the inheritance. Marcos and Juan try to meet up with Gandolfo in the hotel bathroom but Marcos gets in trouble with a cop named Texano (Robert Rey) comes in. Marcos gets busted in front of Gandolfo but Gandolfo insists they weren’t doing anything wrong as Marcos is taken outside of the bathroom where it was revealed that Texano was a con artist too, who wanted a cut of whatever Marcos and Juan is getting. The two then have a meeting with Gandolfo, an avid stamp collector, as the two reveal to him the “Nine Queens” stamp. A stamp expert (Leo Dyzen) checks for the stamps and tells Gandolfo it’s the real thing as they negotiated for a $450,000 fee. The stamp expert meets Juan and Marcos outside and knows it’s a very good counterfeit version and wants a small cut, as the two can’t believe everybody wants something.

Juan and Marcos decided to wait at around 10 PM for the money to be delivered as a couple of motorcycle thieves steal the stamps and threw them into the water. The biggest deal of their career is over, or is it? Marcos decides to get the real stamp from Berta (Elsa Berenguer), Sandler’s sister-in-law as they meet her and she wants $250,000 for the stamps, which becomes a big problem for both. Marcos has $200,000 left but Juan doesn’t want to use the money he has for his dad, which is $50,000 of the $70,000 grand he needs. He goes to his dad Ramiro (Ricardo Diaz Mourelle) for guidance but Ramiro wants him to get out of the con artist game and not end up like him. Juan decides to use the money to buy the stamps and as they return to the hotel, Gandolfo meets them and he wants something else along with the stamps. Marcos finds himself in a dilemma, as he couldn’t believe that Gandolfo wants a night with Valeria and her to deliver the stamps. He tells Valeria about what’s going and she is livid and the question is will Valeria help them in the deal? What will Marcos and Juan gain? Will Marcos ever settle the inheritance trouble with Valeria and Federico? What is the melody to the Rita Pavone song Juan is trying to remember? And is everyone including the audience being conned here?

What makes “Nueve Reinas” such a fresh and vibrant film is its offbeat, quirky energy and fast-witted dialogue as Fabian Bielinsky brings in a fun outlook to the con-artist film genre. Though some may have a hard time to figure out what’s going, it’s still a viable, obtuse film to watch as the plot is filled with twists right up to the end. Bielinsky gives the film an offbeat energy that is enjoyable to watch while cinematographer Marcelo Camorino brings in a colorful, spacious look to Buenos Aires (especially in the midst of its recent economic collapse, which has a brief reference in the dialogue where Marcos says, “This country is going to sh*t”) that looks modern and vibrant.

The film’s cast also spice things up as Ricardo Darin is amazing as this veteran con artist who thinks he knows everything but doesn’t get treated with respect, particularly from his sister as she often takes hits from her and other people. Gaston Pauls is wonderful as the conflicted Juan, who loves to be a con artist but has moral ambiguities when it comes to certain things like trying to steal from old women or making a scene in fear of exposure. Leticia Bredice is the film’s most striking performance as Valeria where she brings a combination of sheer sexiness and attitude as a woman who just wants to do the right thing. The smaller performances of Tomas Fonzi, Oscar Nunez, Ricardo Diaz Mourelle, Elsa Berenguer, Celia Juarez, and Roberto Rey are all fun in their quirky or straightforward tone while Ignasi Abadal is perfect as the slimy, lecherous Gandolfo.

When “Nueve Reinas” was released in 2000, it became a huge box office hit in Argentina and slowly, it crossed over to several countries in the Latin American market and won more acclaim when it made its North American premiere at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. Recently, the film has become widely acclaimed by critics and those in the American independent film community as noted indie icon, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and Hollywood film star George Clooney wanted to produce an American remake of the film that he re-named into “Criminal”. Set for a 2004 release, the film is to be directed by Soderbergh’s longtime protégé Gregory Jacobs and is starring “Y Tu Mama Tambien” star Diego Luna and noted American indie actors John C. Reilly, Jonathan Tucker, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Though it’s unsure whether “Criminal” will keep the freshness of “Nueve Reinas” in tact along with Soderbergh’s self-indulgent tendencies, some are hoping this is one of the rare good remakes of excellent foreign films.

Fans of Latin American films will indeed love “Nueve Reinas” while those looking for a fresh con artist film will find something new about this film. While some might be confused on what exactly is going on, it’s still a fun, vibrant film to watch that just keeps on guessing on who is conning who. With the recent Ridley Scott hit “Matchstick Men”, the con artist genre is returning with some fresh storylines and cooler scams. It’s also educational for those of you who want to be young con artists as you can try to watch those tricks too. For those of you waiting for “Criminal” (including myself, the # 1 Gyllenhaalic at this website), “Nueve Reinas” will give you an inkling on what might happen in the remake and how the actors will approach the roles. For a good, fun, intense con artist film, “Nueve Reinas” is the film to see.

Related Reviews:

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_118471757444

Criminal (2004):

http://www.epinions.com/content_154887687812



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age