''Bottom of the Sea'' ( es, El fondo del mar) is a 2003

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

comedy drama film written and directed by Damián Szifrón and starring Daniel Hendler, Dolores Fonzi and Gustavo Garzón. It was produced by Sebastián Aloi, Nathalie Cabiron, and Damián Cukierkorn. The associate producers were

Diana Frey Diana Frey (born August 16, 1944) is an Argentine film producer and production manager active in the Cinema of Argentina since 1976. She has produced a number of significant Argentine pictures such as ''Alambrado'' (1991), ''Plata quemada'' (2000) ...

and Guillermo Otero. The story deals with jealousy and the maturity required for a person to overcome it.

Synopsis

A slightly neurotic architecture student, Ezequiel Toledo ( Daniel Hendler), drops by his girlfriend Ana's ( Dolores Fonzi) apartment and finds a man named Aníbal ( Gustavo Garzón) hiding under her bed. Aníbal retires quietly without knowing of Ezequiel's discovery, and Ana does not mention him at all. Ezequiel begins to suspect Ana and jealousy fills him. He decides to follow Aníbal, whom he's sure is having an affair with Ana. This is the start of a night's odyssey for Ezequiel, who trails his suspect and starts to gather small details about his life and identity. At one point Ezequiel sets fire to Aníbal's car and threatens his life. The events spiral even more as Ezequiel is later followed by Ana.

Cast

* Daniel Hendler as Ezequiel Toledo * Dolores Fonzi as Ana * Gustavo Garzón as Aníbal * Ramiro Agüero as Altclas * Ignacio Mendi as Rolandelli * José Palomino Cortez as Máximo * Rafael Filipelli as Filipelli * Mercedes Halfon as Voz en el teléfono * Diego Peretti as Cómico 1 * Alejandro Fiore as Cómico 2 * Gabriel Fernández as Joven Arquitecto *

Daniel Valenzuela Daniel Valenzuela (born May 5, 1956, in Misiones, Argentina), is a prolific film and television actor. He has also done some screenplay writing. He works in the cinema of Argentina.Claudio Rissi Claudio is an Italian language, Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan language, Catalan and Occitan language, Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudia (gens), ...

as Taxista

Distribution

The film was first presented at the Mar del Plata Film Festival at the March 11, 2003. It opened wide in Argentina on August 28, 2003. The film has been screened at some film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Latin America Film Festival, Poland; the Lleida Latin-American Film Festival, Spain; the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain; and others.

Critical reception

Critic Gustavo J. Castagna, reporting from the Mar del Plata Film Festival for

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

liked the film, and wrote, "''El fondo del mar'' is clearly directed to the box office crowds when made through the use of mixed genres, but it does not fall into any false intents; closer to the aesthetics of Fabian Bielinsky's '' Nine Queens'', ''El fondo del mar'' shows that a cinema made with pleasure and formal rigor is still possible." Neil Young thought the film was an "unassuming but very likeable little comedy with dramatic touches...writer-director makes a very old set-up seem fresh, funny and surprising." Yet, Young thought director Damián Szifrón lost his way at the end.Young, Neil
''Neil Young's Film Lounge,'' reporting from the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, September 25, 2003.

Awards

Wins * Clarin Entertainment Awards: Clarin Award Best Film Actor, Gustavo Garzón; Best Film Director, Damián Szifron; Best Film; Best Film Screenplay, Damián Szifron; 2003. * Mar del Plata Film Festival: Audience Award, Damián Szifron; Best Ibero-American Film, Damián Szifron;

Prize - Special Mention Best Latin-American Film, Damián Szifron; 2003. * Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Horizons Award - Special Mention, Damián Szifron, 2003. *

Argentine Film Critics Association Awards The Argentine Film Critics Association ( es, Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina) is an organization of Argentine-based journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor ...

: Silver Condor; Best Supporting Actor, Gustavo Garzón; 2004. * Lleida Latin-American Film Festival: Best Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best First Work, Damián Szifron; 2004. Nominations * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best Art Direction, Mariela Rípodas and Lucia Onofri; Best Cinematography, Lucio Bonelli; Best Director, Damián Szifron; Best Film; Best First Film, Damián Szifron; Best Original Screenplay, Damián Szifron; Best Sound, Jesica Suarez, Marcos De Aguirre and Fernando Soldevila; Best Supporting Actress, Dolores Fonzi; 2004.

References

External links

* *
''El fondo del mar''
at the cinenacional.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bottom Of The Sea 2003 films 2000s thriller films Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films 2003 directorial debut films