''The Amateur'' ( es, El Amateur) is an Argentine

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

released in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, written and directed by

Juan Bautista Stagnaro ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

. The film was based on a novel by

Mauricio Dayub Mauricio may refer to: *Mauricio (given name) *Maurício José da Silveira Júnior (born 1988), Brazilian footballer known by the mononym Maurício *Maurício (footballer) (Maurício dos Santos Nascimento, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *216428 M ...

. The picture was nominated for five

Silver Condor 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 ...

Awards.

Plot

On the outskirts of a provincial town, Pajaro is determined to enter the ''

The Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' by breaking the longest bike-ride record. He rides around the

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

in the square with the help of his friend, Lopecito. He is willing to face many challenges that face him, in attaining this new record. Will this race open the path to love for him, and for his redemption?

Cast

as Alfonso "Pájaro" Romero * Pedro Heredia as Ramón *

Vando Villamil Vando Jorge Lopes Da Costa Neto (born 24 July 1992), simply known as Vando, is a São Toméan footballer who plays as a midfielder for UD Rei Amador and the São Tomé and Príncipe national team. International career Vando made his internatio ...

as Lopecito *

Arturo Goetz Arturo L. Goetz (24 June 1944 – 28 July 2014) was an Argentine film actor. He worked in the cinema of Argentina. He studied for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1971 to 1974, and published his findings ...

as Concejal *

Cacho Espíndola Cacho Espíndola (1940 – August 21, 2004) was an Argentine actor. He starred in the 1962 film ''Una Jaula no tiene secretos ''Una jaula no tiene secretos'' (''A Cage Has No Secrets'') is a 1962 Spanish- Argentine comedy film directed by Agus ...

as Intendente * Alejandra Puy as La Mora *

Darío Grandinetti Darío Alejandro Grandinetti (born March 5, 1959) is an Argentine actor. He is known for his numerous roles in television, theater and film, where he participated in films by renowned directors such as Alejandro Doria, Pedro Almodóvar and Dami ...

as Funcionario municipal

Exhibition

The film premiered on April 22, 1999 and was released in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

and in America in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

at the Hispanic Film Festival. The film was produced by Aleph Producciones S.A. and distributed by Transeuropa Video Entertainment on VHS.

Footnotes

External links

* 1999 films Cycling films 1990s sports drama films Films based on Argentine novels Argentine independent films 1990s Spanish-language films Argentine sports drama films 1999 independent films 1999 drama films 1990s Argentine films {{indie-drama-film-stub