In This Tricky Life (2001)
"En la puta vida" (original title)

Montevideo, Uruguay. In this comedic drama, Elisa, 27, dreams of opening her own hairdressing salon in one of the rich districts of the Uruguayan capital. A bit of a rebel, one day Elisa ... See full summary »

Director:

Beatriz Flores Silva

Writers:

Beatriz Flores Silva, János Kovácsi,

Stars:

Mariana Santángelo, Silvestre, Josep Linuesa

7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mariana Santángelo	...	Elisa
Silvestre	...	Plácido el Cara
Josep Linuesa	...	Marcelo
Andrea Fantoni	...	Lulú
Rodrigo Speranza	...	Marcos
Agustín Abreu	...	Nicolás
Carlos Calero	...	El Conejo
Fermí Herrero	...	El Gigante
Augusto Mazzarelli	...	Garcia
Graciela Gelos	...	Teresa
Graciela Escuder	...	Doña Sera
Ana Castillo	...	La Gorda
Ileana López	...	La Flaca
Hugo Blandamuro	...	El Gordo
Alex Borucki	...	Functionario del consulado (as Alex Borucky)

Storyline

Montevideo, Uruguay. In this comedic drama, Elisa, 27, dreams of opening her own hairdressing salon in one of the rich districts of the Uruguayan capital. A bit of a rebel, one day Elisa moves out of her mother's house with her two children and breaks up with Garcia, her boss and lover who has infuriated her by not wanting to get married. So, in the space of twenty-four hours, Elisa finds herself without a roof over her head, without a man, without a job and without money. Her best friend Loulou finds her a job - in the brothel run by Dona Jacqueline. And without really being aware of it, Elisa slides into prostitution, which leads her to Barcelona. She falls in love, she is exploited, she gets involved in transvestite gang wars, and meanwhile just dreams of earning enough money for her little beauty salon back home.

---

Plot Keywords:

money | gang war | montevideo uruguay | brothel | love | 

---

Taglines:

Una historia real... tan real que aún sucede.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

Uruguay Argentina Cuba Spain Belgium

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

7 April 2001 (Uruguay)

Also Known As:

In This Tricky Life

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avalon Productions, BFS Productions, Bavaria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

More "Pretty Woman" than "Pixote".

Despite an excellent lead performance by Mariana Santángelo, the story told in this film deserved a more serious approach than it's given here. Such artificial cliches as the "doomed best friend" and the "handsome, understanding cop" seem out of place amid the elements of what should be an inherently dark and dramatic story.