''On Probation'' ( es, Tiempo de valientes: "A Time for the Brave") is a 2005 Argentine

crime comedy film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written and directed by

Damián Szifrón Damián is a Czech, Slovak and Spanish male given name, which is a form of the name Damian. Damian is derived from the Greek name Δαμιανος (Damianos), from the Greek word δαμαζω (damazo), meaning "to tame" or "to master".''Behind the ...

and starring

Diego Peretti Diego Peretti (born 10 February 1963) is an Argentine actor, screenwriter and former psychiatrist. Peretti was born in Buenos Aires, and practiced as a psychiatrist for fourteen years. He took part in several movies and TV series, including ...

and

Luis Luque Luis Luque, born Luis Antonio Pedro Barattero (June 12, 1956), is an Argentina, Argentine film and television actor. He has made over 40 appearances in film and television in Argentina since 1982, when he appeared in ''Aprender a vivir''. Many o ...

. Contributing writers for the film were Agustín Rolandelli and Nicolás Smudt. It was produced by

Oscar Kramer Oscar Kramer (25 May 1935 – 7 April 2010) was an Argentine film producer. He was born in Buenos Aires. He worked in the cinema of Argentina when he was young. In the 1970s he lived in Antwerp, Belgium, where he worked in the diamond industry ...

and

Hugo Sigman Hugo Sigman (born 1 January 1944) is an Argentine psychiatrist and business mogul. He is the founder, CEO and –jointly with his wife, biochemist Silvia Gold— the only shareholder of Grupo Insud, a business conglomerate with a presence in the ...

. The film is considered an Argentine entry in the buddy-cop adventure subgenre.

Synopsis

Alfredo Díaz (

) is a cop who falls into a depression after discovering that his wife has been cheating on him. Mariano Silverstein (

), a psychologist assigned by the force, tries to help Alfredo deal with his problem. When Alfredo is invited to dinner to Silverstein's home, he unmasks Silverstein's wife, who also has an affair, which causes the psychologist and the cop to switch roles. Díaz takes Silverstein with him on many adventures as both begin to unravel a criminal conspiracy of national proportions.

Cast

as Inspector Alfredo Díaz *

as Licenciado Mariano Silverstein *

Martín Adjemián Martín Adjemián (December 12, 1932 – January 3, 2006) was an Argentine film and television actor of Armenian descent. He worked in the cinema of Argentina.Ernesto Claudio as Lomianto * Oscar Ferreiro as Lebonian * Gabriela Iscovich as Diana * Tony Lestingi as Arias * Dulio Orso as Radamés * Carlos Portaluppi as Villegas * Hilario Quinteros as Alfredo Gauto *

Marcelo Sein Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

as Farina * Daniel Valenzuela as Pontrémoli

Distribution

The film opened wide in Argentina on September 29, 2005. It was shown at film festivals, including: the Málaga Film Festival, Spain; the Indie - World Film Festival,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

; the Villeurbanne Festival Reflets du cinéma ibérique et Latino-américain, France; and others.

Critical reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine film critic Jonathan Holland, liked the film although he had a few problems with the latter part of the film. He wrote, "A well-scripted and played Argentine buddy movie that generates fine comedy and decent thrills from an engagingly offbeat premise, ''On Probation'' is a surprising pleasure. Though things fall apart somewhat in the final reels, the solid work early on sees pic through successfully. ''Probation'' did good business at home following its September 2005 release, followed by unexpectedly healthy Spanish B.O. in 2006, suggesting pic could walk free in selected offshore markets beyond the Hispanic, with a cult following via fest play likely."Holland, Jonathan.
''Variety'', film review, July 11, 2006. Last accessed: February 18, 2008.

Awards

Wins * Málaga Spanish Film Festival, Málaga, Spain: Silver Biznaga; Best Latin American Actor, Luis Luque; 2006. * Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival,

Peñíscola Peníscola () or Peñíscola (), anglicised as Peniscola, is a municipality in the Province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located on the Costa del Azahar, north of the Serra d'Irta along the Mediterranean coast. It is a p ...

, Spain: Best Actor, Diego Peretti; Best Director, Damián Szifron; Best Film, Damián Szifron; 2006. *

Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema The Biarritz Festival Latin America (french: Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine) is an international film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a singl ...

Biarritz, France Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain ...

: Audience Award, Damián Szifron; 2006. Nominations * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Best Actor, Luis Luque; Best Actor, Diego Peretti; Best Cinematography, Lucio Bonelli; Best Director, Damián Szifron; Best Editing, Alberto Ponce; Best Film; Best Music, Guillermo Guareschi; Best Original Screenplay, Damián Szifron, Agustín Rolandelli, and Nicolás Smudt; Best Sound, Fernando Soldevila; 2006.

References

External links

* Official Website *
''Tiempo de valientes''
at

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and World Wide Web, web-based database about Cinema of Argentina, Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, tel ...

''Tiempo de valientes'' review by Diego Batlle
''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La Na ...

''
''Tiempo de valientes'' film trailer

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{Damián Szifrón 2005 films 2000s crime comedy films Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films Films shot in Buenos Aires 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s buddy cop films Argentine crime comedy films 2005 comedy films 2005 independent films 2000s Argentine films