Common Ground

This disturbing drama from Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain (A Place in the World) examines the pitfalls of entering one's senior years without suitable financial protection. Fernando (Federico Luppi) is a 60-year-old Buenos Aires professor forced to take an early retirement, albeit without full benefits. His wife Liliana works for a nonprofit which is being shut down due to financial upheaval. Unwilling to ask their computer programmer son for money and emotionally unable to sell their home to raise cash, the couple find themselves increasingly unable to make ends meet and, in the case of Fernando, loathe to adopt any short-term solution to stay financially solvent. Common Ground will make many people uncomfortable with its blunt approach to a difficult subject, yet the film's raw honesty and unwillingness to sugarcoat the pain of its characters is a harsh and welcome jolt. A courageous, mature, and intelligent depiction of life gone awry on the cusp of the “golden years,” this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (P. Hall)