Talking To The Screen
Nine Queens :2000
?Nine Queens? is an Argentine film written and directed by Fabian Bielinsky. This, his directorial debut, is sure to place him on the map of Argentine cinema. As it is, this is the only Argentine movie I can think of off the top of my head. I suppose this is unsurprising due to their economy of late.
The plot follows a day of two con artists. At the opening, Juan a timid, soft featured man performs a quick con on a convenience store clerk. His take is about fifty pesos. Immediately after his scheme, the clerk goes off duty, replaced by another equally doe-eyed rube. Seeing this, Juan attempts the con again, but is caught by the manager and first teller. Fortunately for Juan, Marcos, who happens to be shopping in the store, steps up and sweeps him away. Juan and Marcos have never met before, but Marcos an experienced grifter, has some sympathy for Juan, an obvious amateur. After walking in some circles, the two agree to be partners for the day. In the afternoon, the chance of a lifetime falls in Juan and Marcos? lap. A counterfeiter has made a copy of an extremely rare sheet of stamps, The Nine Queens, but he is ill and needs Marcos and Juan to sell them to a buyer, who happens to be staying at a nearby hotel, but just until the following morning.
Con artist movies are nearly exclusively the realm of David Mamet (?House of Games?, ?The Spanish Prisoner?, ?Heist?). Making a film about grifting, with such a cadre already in play, requires a filmmaker to do something unique. Bielinsky tells a very straightforward narrative, focusing on the single job, the sale of The Nine Queens with little straying after some introductory hijinks. With a plan as full of coincidence as told in this movie, a movie about con artists, all but the most na?ve viewer is pointedly aware that there is going to be some sort of betrayal, and someone is playing someone else. But is Juan playing Marcos? Or is Marcos playing Juan? Hints are dropped throughout suggesting one scenario, and then another. The secret is kept extremely close to the chest until the final scene. Was it a complete surprise? No. But it was truly well executed.
The plot follows a day of two con artists. At the opening, Juan a timid, soft featured man performs a quick con on a convenience store clerk. His take is about fifty pesos. Immediately after his scheme, the clerk goes off duty, replaced by another equally doe-eyed rube. Seeing this, Juan attempts the con again, but is caught by the manager and first teller. Fortunately for Juan, Marcos, who happens to be shopping in the store, steps up and sweeps him away. Juan and Marcos have never met before, but Marcos an experienced grifter, has some sympathy for Juan, an obvious amateur. After walking in some circles, the two agree to be partners for the day. In the afternoon, the chance of a lifetime falls in Juan and Marcos? lap. A counterfeiter has made a copy of an extremely rare sheet of stamps, The Nine Queens, but he is ill and needs Marcos and Juan to sell them to a buyer, who happens to be staying at a nearby hotel, but just until the following morning.
Con artist movies are nearly exclusively the realm of David Mamet (?House of Games?, ?The Spanish Prisoner?, ?Heist?). Making a film about grifting, with such a cadre already in play, requires a filmmaker to do something unique. Bielinsky tells a very straightforward narrative, focusing on the single job, the sale of The Nine Queens with little straying after some introductory hijinks. With a plan as full of coincidence as told in this movie, a movie about con artists, all but the most na?ve viewer is pointedly aware that there is going to be some sort of betrayal, and someone is playing someone else. But is Juan playing Marcos? Or is Marcos playing Juan? Hints are dropped throughout suggesting one scenario, and then another. The secret is kept extremely close to the chest until the final scene. Was it a complete surprise? No. But it was truly well executed.