Nine Queens
When I was watching Bluffmaster the other day (yes, I am always behind regarding Indian cinema, but what to do?) the lift scene suddenly reminded me of one of my favourite Argentinian films Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas). They are both con movies and probably that is the only thing they have in common (apart from the mentioned scene and an unexpected end). I liked the idea of writing about Nueve Reinas because of Bluffmaster despite the fact that it is not a very recent film. So here we go.
Nine Queens is an engrossing thriller with a few touches of humour that will have you stuck to your seat like glue. A must-watch movie, I dare say. The plot is flawless, regardless its complexity. I have seen it at least four times and I am not sure I could tell which time I enjoyed the most- the first time, when I didn”t know what to expect next, or the following ones, when I was able to delight in noticing all the little details knowing what was coming next.
The acting is really convincing, with very believable characters, but that is something that doesn’t surprise me, coming from Argentinian cast. I have always liked Ricardo Darín, the only thing that makes me nervous about him is his tendency to mutter his lines. Gastón Pauls is perfect in his role of young Juan, the kind of guy that is a hit with everyone, especially trusting old ladies.
One of the things that impressed me most when I watched this movie was discovering the innumerable different ways one can be swindled in the street. In Darín’s words: They (tricksters) are everywhere, only thing is you cannot see them. I was also surprised to find myself taking a liking to this couple, in contrast to the rest of criminals around them. Maybe it was getting to know them and their problems that made me think like that while watching the film.
Nine Queens is the story of Marcos (Ricardo Darín) and Juan (Gastón Pauls) – two swindlers who meet accidentally and then agree to work together combining Marco’s experience with Juan’s skills. Suddenly they are offered the chance of a lifetime, all they have to do is sell a sheet of forged stamps (Las Nueve Reinas) to a Spanish millionaire who is being deported to Venezuela the following morning and who is lodged at the hotel where Marcos’ sister, Valeria (Leticia Brédice) works. The less you know about the film the better, so I won’t elaborate any more for those who have not seen it but intend to.
Directed by Fabián Bielinsky, it was nominated for 28 awards and won 21 of them. Fabián died as a result of a heart-attack last year. I guess we lost many potential masterpieces when we lost him. He had directed two films, Nine Queens and El aura. Sony, Fox and Universal had offered him to do a remake of Nine Queens in English, which he rejected stating that he didn’t want his first two films to be exactly the same one, as it would be like not progressing. He later sold the rights to Warner Bros and it was then made into Criminal.
Tags: Latin America, Spanish
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
= Nine Queens was quite a trip… the twist it takes in the end was something that caught me unawares… I hated BluffMaster for lifting such original brilliant pieces of work that was done in Nine Queens. In fact BluffMaster was not a badly done movie but the fact that entire frames were carbon copied from films like Nine Queens (the basic story concept, though distorted a little and ditto copies of scenes like the elevator scene you pointed out) and The Game (the final jump scene and the revelation, plus again the faked trip on which the main protagonist is sent on)…
I did not know that the director of Nine Queens – Fabi
Monica –
9 Queens is a sweet indulgence, thanks for bringing it up on V-Day
Compare this to some big-budget Hollywood crime caper like say Ocean’s 11 and you almost think that the bloated budget kills the creative process!! The beauty of this film (9 queens) lies in its visual simplicity – no speed boats or Ferrari’s or explosions to divert your attention from a clever narrative.
This and Motorcycle Diaries surely puts Argentina in a respectable position in the film fratenity. Although I am not sure if the latter was an Argentinian made film…
Did not know the director died last year…
Another good post Monica…though i haven’t seen 9 queens nor most of the movies you mention ( Kill me for this)..i love your style of writing..very simplistic, innocent and with clarity…oops..was i talking about 9 queens or your writing?
Thanks for this post Monica. It’s a con that Mamet would have been proud to write. Nine Queens reminds me of House of Games and vice versa. One request – can we please get to learn about Miguel Bardem and his movies – including Incautos, yet another neo noir – through your fanatstic prose?
oz,
I did like Bluffmaster. But when I saw that scene I thought :-w I have not seen Criminal nor intend to. You are right, the locations of Nine Queens make the film unique. Buenos Aires… 8-| maybe one day… although now I am afraid of being mugged :-ss
It is a pity that Fabi
monica.. thanks for this, i think i’ll definitely rent it.. from your earlier post about daniel burman’s final movie of his trilogy, i had decided to rent his first one “waiting for the messiah”.. which i believe you hadn’t seen. all i can say is.. you’re not missing much.. it was rather slow and boring.. well.. at least for me
i’m still trying to decide if i should go ahead and watch the other two.. :-\”
Striker, no, I haven’t seen Waiting for the Messiah yet although I have a copy with me now. All I need is the time to watch it. Slow and boring? :-( Anyway, I really enjoyed Lost embrace and Family Ties but who knows… I think Family ties was the best of those two. I laughed a lot, anyway. But also cried :-s
since you lot are discussing south-american cinema; i sort of* watched a bit of Brazilian movie – “Homem Que Copiava, O” t’other day. i liked the way narration was done and the story. (i think, it’s a first foreign movie i have seen, well, sort of..)
*i watched a bit of football in-between..
Well done, Honhaar! Now watch Nine Queens. I am almost certain you would love it. Honestly.
Hey Monica!!
Aint seen you here for a while…. or is that because i haven’t been on for a while?? LOL!!
Another one of your recommendations..will look out for it…
And Honhaar, you’ll be amazed when you see the quality of some foreign fillums!!
Don’t forget, even our RGV watches ‘em too!!
Although I dont know who started the rumours that ‘Naach’ was a remake of the Cantonese film ‘In The Mood For Love’ as they are poles apart!!!
Hey Steve! I think both things, LOL.
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Can’t believe you’ve only recently seen ‘Bluffmaster’ now Monica!
Why is this?? Are there no hindi film dealers in Spain??
Please explain??
As i thought bollywood took over the whole world… oh, i must be getting confused with Shilpa!!
Yes, well, what to do? I saw Omkara before I saw Bluffmaster. What a mess! And I’ve got a copy of Being Cyrus finally. Although I still haven’t managed to see it!
Why is this?? Are there no hindi film dealers in Spain??
You hit the nail on the head, Steve! ;)
Bloody hell!!
You know if you lived here you’d complain of the opposite as i post films to my mates (the ones who can’t be bothered to go to a video shop!) and have many films travelling (without me!) up and down the country!! e.g, ‘Fanah’ is in Yorkshire, ‘Yun HOta To Kya Hota’ is in London, ‘Paheli’s in Buckinghamshire, ‘Parineeta’s in Telford!!
Oh what the hell, send me your addy and i’ll post you films!:d
But seriously, had it not been for me, alot of my lazy mates wouldn’t have seen all this stuff and more!
How do you get the films then??
Do you have to order on the net then wait endlessly for deliveries??
And why oh why have you not seen ‘Cyrus’?!!
I love that film, was wonderful!!!
Watch it!!!!
On average how long do you have to wait after a films release before you view??
Monica, please tell me you have seen ‘Gangster’??
Or ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’??
Or ‘Dor’??
This is bad news for any film fan!! I honestly thought hindi films were available very easily around the globe these days…
“Nine Queens” indeed was a delightful film, great performances and keeps you engrossed till the end.
You may feel that u have figured out everything…but it surprises you at every turn.
Fun to watch.
Steve,
)
Yes, I get them on the net. As for how much do I have to wait after a film is released… well, it depends. I usually order several dvds at the same time and usually as Xmas or birthday presents, hehe. So I guess that also contributes to the delays. Deliveries are not too bad.
I think I will watch Cyrus this weekend. I haven’t seen Gangster nor Dor. Haven’t seen Lage raho Munna Bhai yet although I have a copy with me. Coincidentally, I only got to watch Munna Bhai MBBS last weekend!
Prashanth,
True. Plus it is a film you won’t get tired of, no matter how many times you watched it!
Nine queens is an absolute favourite! Bluffmaster sucked…Matchstick Men was a better remake of the film…
//Monica – Had you noticed I prefer Argentinian cinema? :p Incautos is another *con* movie that’s been on my wishlist for quite some time now. Ergo.
//CT – Matchstick Men is based on Eric Garcia’s fiction. Not sure if Eric would have been inspired by Nine Queens, which came two years earlier. :-\”
May I humbly submit another Spanish film (actually from Spain 2002) – “Intacto” for your viewing pleasure?
A sublime delight. Clever and moving. That’s a tough combination to pull off.
Monica,
If you ever do make it to Argentina, I will make it a point to try to join you!!! Buenos Aires is more safe than it gets credit for, !y me gusta sudamerica mucho, mucho, mucho!!!
I just found out that a peruvian friend of mine grew up watching Bollywood movies, there was a theater in Lima that showed them on Saturdays…
I have been vascillating about seeing this film, and after your review have put it on the rental queue!!!
CT/wb,
I haven’t seen Matchstick Men so I can’t comment on that.
dabba,
Intacto is a bit disturbing for me, I’m afraid :-s
t!
I am dying to go to Argentina :((
Yes, I had heard that there are quite a lot of Indian cinema fans in Per
Just saw ‘El Aura’. Fantastic film.