Lost Embrace (2004)
"El abrazo partido" (original title)

In Buenos Aires, the twenty and something year old Jewish-Argentinean Ariel Makaroff has left the University of Architecture and spends his time wandering through the downtown gallery where... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Burman

Writers:

Marcelo Birmajer, Daniel Burman

Stars:

Daniel Hendler, Adriana Aizemberg, Jorge D'Elía

10 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Hendler	...	Ariel Makaroff
Adriana Aizemberg	...	Sonia Makaroff
Jorge D'Elía	...	Elías Makaroff
Sergio Boris	...	Joseph Makaroff
Rosita Londner	...	Abuela de Ariel
Diego Korol	...	Mitelman
Silvina Bosco	...	Rita
Isaac Fajm	...	Osvaldo
Melina Petriella	...	Estela
Atilio Pozzobon	...	Saligani Papá
Mónica Cabrera	...	Saligani Mamá
Franco Tirri	...	Saligani Hijo
Luciana Dulizky	...	Saligani Hija
Eloy Burman	...	Saligani Bebé
Juan José Flores Quispe	...	Ramón

Storyline

In Buenos Aires, the twenty and something year old Jewish-Argentinean Ariel Makaroff has left the University of Architecture and spends his time wandering through the downtown gallery where his mother has a lingerie shop and his brother runs an importation business, trying to get his Polish passport and move to Europe. Ariel has never understood why his father left him when he was a baby to fight in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. When his father returns to Buenos Aires, Ariel discovers the reason why his father left his family.

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Plot Keywords:

yom kippur war | passport | gallery | feng shui | jewish mother | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

New Yorker Films Océan Films [fr]

Country:

Argentina France Italy Spain

Language:

Spanish Korean Yiddish Russian

Release Date:

25 March 2004 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Lost Embrace

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$18,564 (USA) (28 January 2005)

Gross:

$189,763 (USA) (8 July 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BD Cine, CinemArt, Classic Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is Argentina's official choice for the 2004 Oscar Awards, Foreign Language film category.

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Goofs

There is no Lithuanian language in the film. The girl from Lithuania named Vilna (Lithuania's capital name is Vilnius) is speaking Russian, not Lithuanian. The words Vilna says when she first meets Ariel are "Tvoi drug Ariel. Chto s nim sluchilos?", what means "Your friend Ariel. What's wrong with him?"

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Connections

References Zelig (1983)

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Soundtracks

"I Libe Heim"

User Reviews

Hug me

"Abrazo Partido" is one of the better Argentine films that have reached us. Not having a market in the USA, if they are not shown in a film festival, they are not seen at all. The director, Daniel Burman working on the screen play with Marcelo Birmajer, shows he is a talent to be reckoned with.

The movie presents us with a small mini mall that one encounters all over Buenos Aires. The story is about all the operators of the tiny shops in the complex, but focuses on the Makaroff family. Elias Creations is operated by Sonia, a woman whose husband has deserted her and the two small sons. Elias, the husband has gone to Israel to fight in one of the wars and never returned. His memory looms large, especially in the case of Ariel, who secretly loves him, but resent the abandonment of the family.

The camera work is incredible. The director gives us an excellent idea of the area of the neighborhood that at one time was dominated by the European Jews that emigrated to Argentina.

Daniel Hendler, does a wonderful job in portraying Ariel, the young man who wants to do just the opposite of what his family did: return to Poland. The family left the horrors of their country by settling in the friendly atmosphere that Argentina offered at the time. Now, during a difficult time, the grandson of the original family wants nothing of his precarious life. His dream is to try his fortune in Europe, Poland, only being the excuse for getting an European passport that only his grandmother can provide, having been born there.

Adriana Aizemberg plays the mother, Sonia. Ms. Aizemberg is wonderful as the mother who is so full of life and suddenly sees the world, as she knew it, coming apart. The grandmother, Rosita Londner, is also appealing.

A new talent emerges in Argentina.