The "generación del 60" was the Argentinean equivalent of the French Nouvelle Vague, and it included directors such as Manuel Antin (_La cifra impar_, _Circe_, both based on stories by Julio Cortázar), Rodolfo Kuhn (_Los jóvenes viejos_), and David José Kohon, whose _Breve cielo_ is one of the best examples of the movement.
Ana María Picchio, who would later shine in the Academy Award-nominated _La tregua_ (Sergio Renán, 1974), makes her feature-film debut as Delia, a streetwise girl who enters into a lonely teenage boy's life and makes an impact on it. Paquito (Alberto Fernández de Rosa) is a naïve orphan who lives with his uncle and aunt and works at their neighborhood grocery store. As his legal guardians leave for Mar del Plata, Paquito's chance encounter with Delia develops into a close yet complex relationship. _Breve cielo_ traces this brief encounter, and we see the characters walking around Buenos Aires, having coffee, talking about life. The premise is simple, but it is full of energy and spontaneity. I was reminded of Truffaut, who saw no difference between the cinema and life. _Breve cielo_ is somewhere between _The 400 Blows_ and _Stolen Kisses_, without being exactly "Antoine and Colette." The young actors' performances are brilliant, and Astor Piazzolla's music is aptly poignant. Scenes from the streets of Buenos Aires make the city almost a character in itself.
The title of the film is perfect. Heaven--like Hell--is supposed to be forever. We should be content if we get to experience it briefly, the film seems to say. The phrase is from Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play _La vida es sueño_ (1635). Paquito's uncle gives the viewer a clue when he says, "Life is a dream." In the play, one of the characters, Segismundo, says that if man is a "small (or brief) Earth" (a common metaphor of those times), then woman must be a "small (or brief) Heaven."
_Breve cielo_, which received an award for best screenplay at the Moscow International Film Festival, is one of the best Argentinean films I've seen. I may be biased, as I absolutely love the French Nouvelle Vague (especially Truffaut, who is my favorite director), but I still urge everyone to see it.
