''Waiting for the Messiah'' ( es, Esperando al mesías) is a 2000

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 ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Daniel Burman Daniel Burman (born 29 August 1973, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film director, screenplay writer, and producer. According to film critic Joel Poblete, who writes for ''Mabuse'', a cinema magazine, Daniel Burman is one of the members of the ...

. The film features

Daniel Hendler Daniel Hendler (born 3 January 1976) is a Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as ''Bottom of the Sea'', ''Family Law'', ''The ...

, Enrique Piñeyro,

Héctor Alterio Héctor Benjamín Alterio Onorato (born 21 September 1929) is an Argentine theatre, film and television actor, well known both in Argentina and Spain. Biography Alterio's theatre debut came in 1948 as the lead in ''Cómo suicidarse en prima ...

Melina Petriella Melina Petriella (born March 2, 1976) is an Argentine movie and television actress. Filmography * ''Besos en la frente'' (1996) * '' Esperando al Mesías'' (2000) aka '' Waiting for the Messiah'' * ''Nocturno'' (2001) * '' El Abrazo partido'' ( ...

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in ''Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love in ...

Imanol Arias Manuel María Arias Domínguez (born 26 April 1956 in Riaño, León, Spain) better known as Imanol Arias, is a Spanish actor and film director. Career Imanol Arias began his career with a travelling theatre group performing in the Basque C ...

and

Dolores Fonzi Dolores María Fonzi (born 19 July 1978) is an Argentine TV, theatre and film actress. Several of her films have received critical acclaim such as '' Burnt Money'', '' Waiting for the Messiah'', '' Bottom of the Sea'' and '' The Aura''. Her brot ...

, among others. The film won many awards including Best Film at the

Lleida Latin-American Film Festival The Lleida Latin-American Film Festival ( ca, Mostra de Cinema Llatinoamericà de Lleida, or shortened to ca, Mostra de Lleida) is a cinema festival that takes place in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain awarding Latin American films. It is organised by the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The film takes place in a Jewish community of Buenos Aires.

Plot

The picture tells of Ariel (

), a post-production video editor, a young man who is torn between his devotion to traditional family ties and the desire for something different, and, of Santamaria ( Enrique Piñeyro) an older bank employee who suddenly finds his life in complete turmoil. Santamaria is unexpectedly fired from his bank job due to the world's stock market shocks. His wife takes this event as an opportunity to get rid of him and put him out on the street. Forced to make a small living returning stolen wallets, Santamaria finds some hope in Elsa, a bathroom attendant (

) who is waiting for her husband to be released from prison. Ariel is very much against the restraints of a future that will see him take over his elderly father's (

) restaurant and marry an Argentine Jewish girl (

). At the same time, Ariel is also attracted to a sexy co-worker, Laura (Chiara Caselli), who tells him she's a lesbian.

Cast

as Ariel Goldstein * Enrique Piñeyro as Santamaría *

as Simón *

as Estela *

as Elsa *

Chiara Caselli Chiara Caselli (born 22 December 1967) is an Italian actress. In 1994, Caselli won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress award as well as the David di Donatello for Best Actress award. Caselli has appeared in American films including ''My Own P ...

as Laura * Gabriela Acher as Sara *

as Baltasar *

as Any * Edda Bustamante as Mujer trampa * Tajma Minoru as Oriental * Juan José Flores Quispe as Ramón * Eduardo Wigutow as Moshé Levin *

Beatriz Thibaudin Beatriz Thibaudin (Buenos Aires, August 9, 1927 – Buenos Aires, February 7, 2007) was an Argentine film, stage, and television actress. She studied drama with Luis Gutman, Lito Cruz, and Augusto Fernandez, as well as body language, classical da ...

as Anciana * Sandra Sandrelli as Santa * Dan Adaszko as Albino 1 * Ariel Adaszko as Albino 2

Background

The title alludes to the Jewish belief of "waiting for the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

"; in this case, characters are shown at first to be inactive and dormant, until death and crisis forces them to take action and reevaluate their lives.

Distribution

The film opened wide in Argentina on May 25, 2000. The picture was then presented at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 14, 2000, and later at the

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...

on January 12, 2001.

Awards

;Wins *

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

: Critics Association Award;

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 ...

Prize: For an honest, both realistic and symbolic depiction of human hopes in Buenos Aires today; 2000. *

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 ...

: Grand Coral Third Prize;

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

; 2000. *

Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema The Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI, es, Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of ...

: Special Award to Enrique Piñeyro for his Acting Performance;

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

; 2000. * Biarritz Film Festival: Audience Award;

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; 2000. *

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 Music, César Lerner and Marcelo Moguilevsky; 2001. *

: Best Film; Daniel Burman; 2001. ;Nominations * Bratislava International Film Festival: Grand Prix, Daniel Burman; 2000. *

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...

: Golden Alexander, Daniel Burman; 2000. * Valladolid International Film Festival: Golden Spike, Daniel Burman; 2000. * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Director, Daniel Burman; Best Film; Best New Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best New Actress, Melina Petriella; Best Original Screenplay, Daniel Burman and Emiliano Torres; Best Supporting Actress, Stefania Sandrelli; 2001.

References

External links

* *
''Esperando al mesías''
at the

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 ...

''Esperando al mesías''
at ''La Butaca'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waiting For The Messiah 2000 films 2000 comedy-drama films Films about Jews and Judaism Films shot in Buenos Aires Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films Yiddish-language films Interfaith romance films Italian independent films Spanish independent films Films directed by Daniel Burman Films set in Buenos Aires