Lost Embrace

Daniel Burman's ensemble comedy-drama about a close-knit, ethnically diverse (though largely Jewish) collection of store owners in a Buenos Aires mall meanders as much as a shopper with an afternoon to kill, but remains good-natured enough to warrant a visit. The story is told from the perspective of Ariel (Daniel Hendler), a nice-looking but chronically unhappy young fellow who clerks at his mother's lingerie shop while his brother runs an “import” business in a warehouse upstairs. Ariel's moodiness stems from the fact his father abandoned the family many years earlier, going off to serve in the Israeli army and remaining in the Middle East—now, Ariel himself wants out and is trying to secure a European passport to emigrate, but in the meantime enjoys an occasional stockroom fling with the sultry woman who runs an Internet shop. Around these characters circulate a number of others—Italian and Korean shopkeepers among them—but the focus is mostly on Ariel's introspective flights, especially when his father returns and tries to reconnect. Lost Embrace is untidy and technically modest—but its weaknesses are largely redeemed by a big heart. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a 14-minute “making-of” featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a flawed but winning film.] (F. Swietek)