Intimate Stories

Argentinean filmmaker Carlos Sorin flopped badly with his English-language film Eversmile, New Jersey back in 1989, but after a long absence he's recovered nicely with 2002's delicately engaging Intimate Stories. Technically, this could be called a road movie, since it involves a trio of travelers making their way from a small Patagonian village to a larger town for various reasons—a poor woman appearing on a TV quiz show, an old man retrieving his long-lost dog, and a garrulous salesman planning a surprise visit to a client with whom he's infatuated. But the charm of the film lies not, of course, in the destination, but rather in the multiple detours along the way, involving a small army of colorful incidental characters the three wanderers encounter. The salesman, for example, has a succession of adventures involving a birthday cake he's bought for his would-be girlfriend's child, while the old man consistently falls in with people who become instantly protective of him—and it's these grace notes that infuse the tale with a humanistic warmth. Shot with lovely simplicity and filled with unforced, naturalistic performances (especially by Antonio Benedictis as the determined old man), Intimate Stories is a fine ensemble piece that mixes humor and poignancy to excellent effect, a film that is gently affecting without ever succumbing to sentimentality. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a 12-minute “making-of” featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a winning film.] (F. Swietek)