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| Nine Queens | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nine Queens |
| Director | Fabián Bielinsky |
| Producer | Fernando Sokolowicz |
| Writer | Fabián Bielinsky |
| Starring | Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice |
| Music | Emilio Kauderer |
| Cinematography | Hugo Colace |
| Editing | Juan Carlos Macías |
| Studio | Patagonik Film Group |
| Released | 2000 |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish |
Nine Queens
Nine Queens is a 2000 Argentine crime drama film written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky. The film follows a pair of con artists over a tense 24-hour period in Buenos Aires as they attempt an elaborate scam involving forged stamps. The film garnered international acclaim, influenced remakes in multiple countries, and became a touchstone in discussions of Latin American cinema and trickster narratives.
Nine Queens premiered in 2000 and quickly became emblematic of contemporary Argentine film, joining the canon alongside titles associated with festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and San Sebastián International Film Festival. Its director, Fabián Bielinsky, emerged from a milieu connected to institutions like the Universidad del Cine and production entities like the INCAA and Patagonik Film Group. The lead actors—Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, and Leticia Brédice—were already prominent figures via credits linked to The Secret in Their Eyes, The Aura, Crónica de una fuga, and television projects on Telefe and Canal 13. The film's release intersected with cultural currents involving the Argentine economic crisis and conversations in journals such as Variety, Sight & Sound, and Cahiers du Cinéma.
The narrative centers on two con men, Marcos and Juan, who orchestrate cons across locations including central neighborhoods of Buenos Aires like San Telmo and Puerto Madero. Their scheme involves accessing a rare sheet of stamps with provenance tied to philatelic collections associated with institutions such as the Museo Postal and auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's. The screenplay constructs sequences that invoke set pieces reminiscent of films screened at Telluride Film Festival and Venice Film Festival and echoes motifs found in works by filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock, David Mamet (playwright), Quentin Tarantino, Akira Kurosawa, and Orson Welles. The plot unfolds through escalating deceptions, courtroom-style confrontations referencing practices in Argentine judiciary settings and financial transactions involving banks such as Banco Nación.
Principal roles feature Marcos (portrayed by Ricardo Darín), whose prior credits include collaborations with directors like Marcelo Piñeyro and Francisco J. Lombardi, and Juan (portrayed by Gastón Pauls), known for television roles on 11, 12, 13 and films screened at Mar del Plata International Film Festival. Leticia Brédice plays a role connected to social milieus appearing in projects associated with Sergio Renán and Lucrecia Martel-era ensembles. Supporting characters include a currency expert tied to academic circles around Universidad de Buenos Aires, an ex-con with links to narratives involving Rosario, and peripheral figures patterned after archetypes from literature by Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Performances were discussed in outlets covering awards such as the Silver Condor and festivals like Berlin International Film Festival.
Production was coordinated by Patagonik Film Group with post-production facilities employed in studios comparable to those used by Artear and technical crews that had worked on projects with Pedro Almodóvar-adjacent crews. Cinematographer Hugo Colace employed visual strategies that critics compared to works screened at Cannes and techniques associated with cinematographers from Hollywood and European cinema. The score by Emilio Kauderer invoked musical traditions linked to composers heard at concerts in Teatro Colón and incorporated instrumentation similar to scores from films distributed by companies like Miramax and StudioCanal. The film navigated funding mechanisms involving co-productions like those seen in deals with entities such as Canal+ and tax-credit structures analogous to incentives used by production bodies like INECINE.
Upon release, Nine Queens earned critical praise in publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, and Clarín. It achieved awards at festivals such as Mar del Plata International Film Festival and secured distribution deals that led to screenings in markets covered by distributors like Miramax, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures Classics. The film influenced later crime pictures in Argentina and beyond, inspiring remakes like versions produced in Spain, Mexico, and a Hollywood adaptation starring actors connected to studios like Paramount Pictures and directors who have worked within the Independent film circuit. Scholars at institutions such as Harvard University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and University of Oxford have examined the film in courses on Latin American film, narrative theory, and adaptation studies.
Analyses foreground motifs of deception, trust, and authenticity, drawing theoretical lineage to writers and thinkers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Jean Baudrillard, and Mikhail Bakhtin. Critics have read the film through lenses applied to other works by filmmakers associated with Noir traditions and caper cinema exemplified by titles screened at Sundance Film Festival and analyzed in journals like Film Quarterly. Discussions also connect the film to Argentina's socio-political context involving institutions like Casa Rosada and economic events such as the 2001 Argentine crisis, exploring how narrative strategies mirror public discourse found in outlets like Página/12.
Nine Queens won multiple accolades including honors at Mar del Plata International Film Festival and nominations at ceremonies organized by the Academia de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de la Argentina (Silver Condor). Its legacy endures via retrospectives at venues such as Cineteca Nacional and curricula at film schools including Universidad del Cine and programs at La Fémis and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. The film remains cited in critical anthologies alongside works by Lucrecia Martel, Pablo Trapero, Martín Rejtman, Adrián Caetano, and Fernando Solanas for shaping the trajectory of early-21st-century Argentine and Latin American cinema.
Category:Argentine films Category:2000 films Category:Crime drama films