Valentín (2002/I)

Director:

Alejandro Agresti

Writer:

Alejandro Agresti (writer)

Release Date:

15 January 2003 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Cupid just turned eight.

Plot:

An 8-year-old boy, raised by his grandmother, is surrounded by problems in his family he finds only himself capable of solving.

Plot Keywords:

Grandmother | Little Boy | Family Abandonment | Separation

Awards:

13 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Rodrigo Noya	...	Valentín
Carmen Maura	...	Abuela
Julieta Cardinali	...	Leticia
Jean Pierre Noher	...	El tío Chiche
Mex Urtizberea	...	Rufo
Lorenzo Quinteros	...	Hombre del bar
Alejandro Agresti	...	El padre
Carlos Roffé	...	Dr. Galaburri
Marina Glezer	...	La maestra
Stéfano Di Gregorio	...	Roberto
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fabián Vena	...	El cura

Also Known As:

Valentin (Canada: English title) (International: English title) (Italy) (Netherlands) (USA)
El sueño de Valentín (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language.

Runtime:

86 min | Canada:79 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Argentina | Netherlands | France | Italy | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:G | Finland:S | Argentina:Atp | Belgium:KT | Ireland:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Spain:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Trivia:

About 300 boys were seen for the part of Valentin.

The young would be astronaut

Valentin, the young boy living in the Buenos Aires of the sixties, is a boy that is more mature than what his tender age shows. He is articulate, wise and knows a lot about the life of the astronauts he hears about. In fact, he has built a lot of facsimiles of the space ships and even has his own version of a space suit.

What Valentin doesn't have is parents. We see him living with his older grandmother in a residential area of the capital. There isn't much money, so their lives are not exactly what one might call it even middle class. Yet, the grandmother is a loving woman that cares intensely for her little charge. It's never clear what happened between the parents, but it appears Valentin's mother was abused by the womanizer husband.

Alejandro Agresti's film, which he also wrote, was shown briefly in a commercial run here, but disappeared quickly, so we never got around to it. It came as a total surprise when it was shown in one of the cable channels in its original version.

The film is worth seeing because of Rodrigo Noya, the sweet Valentin of the film. Valentin is the narrator of the story. He amazes us with the way he looks at things and his understanding of what's going on around him. This young actor made an excellent contribution to the film without ever being bratty. Our hearts go to the poor little boy that fate has abandoned and is even lonelier after the sudden death of the grandmother.

Carmen Maura, as the grandmother, is a joy to watch. She is a Spaniard who has emigrated to Argentina. Julieta Cardinali is seen briefly as Leticia, a beautiful blonde woman who Valentin would like to be his new mother, hoping his father will marry her. When the relationship ends, Valentin is miserable, but Leticia, seeing the goodness and loneliness of the young boy stays by him. Mex Urtizberea plays Rufo, the pianist neighbor who is kind to Valentin.

"Valentin" was a surprise that brought joy and fun at the same time.