''Moon of Avellaneda'' ( es, Luna de Avellaneda, also known as ''Avellaneda's Moon'' in English) is a 2004 Argentine comedy-drama film directed by Juan José Campanella, and written by Campanella, Fernando Castets and Juan Pablo Domenech. The film stars Ricardo Darín in his third collaboration with Campanella and Eduardo Blanco in his fourth collaboration, as well as

Mercedes Morán Mercedes Beatriz Morán is an Argentine actress, known for her role in the television miniseries ''Culpables''. Career Morán has worked in several TV programs, such as ''Donde pueda quererte'', ''Rosa de lejos'', ''Por siempre amigos'', ''Ga ...

and

Valeria Bertuccelli Valeria Bertuccelli (born 1969, 30 November) is an Argentine film and television actress. Born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina she began her career in experimental theatre, and later worked in the San Martín a ...

Plot

Román Maldonado ( Ricardo Darín) was born during a carnival fair held at "Luna de Avellaneda", a sports and social club located in

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and is connected ...

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. He is made a member for life, and the club becomes a central part of his life. The club used to have over 8,000 members in its heyday, but in the 2000s membership has dwindled to some 300. The neighbourhood is decaying, the surviving inhabitants are struggling financially and gatherings are hardly what they used to be. To top things off, Román discovers his wife Verónica is having an affair, and their marriage finds itself at its worst. Together with Amadeo Grimberg ( Eduardo Blanco) and Graciela (

), friends from the club, he must fight for the survival of the place before it is sold off and turned into a casino. The film chronicles the ups and downs of this fight, as well as Amadeo's struggling relationship with Cristina (

), Román's family crisis and the difficulties Graciela has after her husband leaves. In the end, a vote to keep the club alive is defeated 33 to 26, and the main characters find themselves parting ways in a bittersweet manner. The ending is however upbeat, as Román finds hope in finding his old club membership card, and together with Amadeo hints that they will start a new one.

Cast

* Ricardo Darín as Román Maldonado * Eduardo Blanco as Amadeo Grimberg *

as Graciela *

as Cristina * Silvia Kutika as Verónica * José Luis López Vázquez as Don Aquiles * Daniel Fanego as Alejandro * Atilio Pozzobon as Atilio * Horacio Peña as Julio * María Victoria Biscay as Macarena * Francisco Fernández De Rosa as Darío * Micaela Moreno as Dalma * Alan Sabbagh as Ismael * Sofia Bertolotto as Yanina, Dario's girlfriend * Ezequiel Merlino as Bruno

Awards

Clarin Entertainment Awards Clarin or Clarín may refer to: Geography *Clarin, Bohol, a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines *Clarin, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the province of Misamis Occidental, Philippines * River Clarin, a river in Ireland Media ...

: Clarin Award, Best Supporting Actor - Film (Cine: Mejor Actor de reparto), Eduardo Blanco; 2004. *

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...

: Coral, Sound, José Luis Díaz; 2004. Nominations * Goya Awards: Goya, Best Spanish Language Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera de Habla Hispana), Juan José Campanella, Argentina; 2004.

Inspiration

The film is inspired by a real club, the "Club Juventud Unida de Llavallol" of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, in which much of its scenes were filmed and also in real situations that occurred at the time of the 2001 Argentina crisis, that are represented in the film as everyday dramas suffered by a society which purchasing power and subsistence collapsed when incomes were not enough to pay even for basic services (gas, water, electricity), while the club struggles, trying to resist, against the onslaught of the debt-burdened economy.

References

External links

*
''Moon of Avellaneda''
at

Cinenacional Cinenacional.com is a web portal and web-based database about Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, television programs, directors, actors, ...

''Moon of Avellaneda''
film review by Josefina Sartora at Cineismo * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Of Avellaneda 2004 films 2004 comedy-drama films Argentine comedy-drama films Films directed by Juan José Campanella Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films Films shot in Buenos Aires Films set in Buenos Aires 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films 2004 independent films 2000s Argentine films