Privates Lives (2001)

Carmen Uranga is a middle-aged Argentine woman who after living many years in Madrid returns to Buenos Aires to assist her sick father (Héctor Alterio). His sister Ana is a lawyer in charge... See full summary »

Director:

Fito Páez

Writers:

Alan Pauls, Fito Páez

Stars:

Cecilia Roth, Gael García Bernal, Luis Ziembrowski

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cecilia Roth	...	Carmen Uranga
Gael García Bernal	...	Gustavo Gana / Bertolini-Gigolo
Luis Ziembrowski	...	Alejandro / Doctor
Chunchuna Villafañe	...	Sofía / Carmen's mother
Lito Cruz	...	Rodolfo / Gustavo's Father
Carola Reyna	...	Roxana Rodó / Pimp
Héctor Alterio	...	Padre de Carmen / Carmen's Father
Audry Gutierrez Alea	...	Gladys / Maid
Dolores Fonzi	...	Ana / Carmen's sister
Luis Machín	...	Eduardo
Eusebio Poncela	...	Voz en Madrid (voice)
Fabiana Cantilo	...	Vecina
Lucrecia Capello	...	Amanda
Yasmin Elias	...	Vicky
Javier Olmedo	...	Remisero 1

Storyline

Carmen Uranga is a middle-aged Argentine woman who after living many years in Madrid returns to Buenos Aires to assist her sick father (Héctor Alterio). His sister Ana is a lawyer in charge of managing family inheritance. Once at home, she relives the trauma of when she was imprisoned because of her political ideas. During the ten months of prison she was raped and forced to give birth to a child who was later given up for adoption. Incapable since then to have a relationship with a man, she experiments a very particular method to satisfy her sexual impulses. Every night, he pays a boy named Gustavo to listen to his voice while reading erotic novels, on the only condition that neither can see each other. But when he falls in love with her and she yields to his attention, both their lives are distorted.

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Plot Keywords:

large breasts | cleavage | bare breasts | sex with son | sex with mother | 

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Taglines:

¿Hasta donde podria llegar una mujer por una pasion?

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Spain Argentina

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

2 November 2001 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Privates Lives

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Circo Beat S.r.l., Mate Producciones S.A., Videocolor

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Carmen accidentally burns herself on the thick green candle in the restaurant, the candle itself is completely missing from the next shot of the table. It then reappears, lying on its side, in the long shot through the window from Ana's point of view.

User Reviews

Pretentious, Unconvincing, and Boring

'Vidas privadas', by first-time director Fito Paez, is the most pretentious and boring movie I have ever seen. The movie suffers from an unconvincing plot and pseudo-intellectual banter that result in a very forced and ridiculous ending. The sex and the final revelation are only there for shock value, and nothing else.

The acting is really good, but I don't think it has anything to do with Paez's direction; he just hired some really good actors. Gael García Bernal's fake Argentinean accent is awful, but he still gives a good performance. But, why didn't they just cast an actor from Argentina for that role? Some Argentinean actors are really good. I guess Fito Paez just wanted to capitalize on the Mexican actor's increasing popularity. Cecilia Roth is always great, and the movie is not a complete fiasco only because of her performance.

Also, Fito Paez is one of Agentina's best singer/songwriters, and I was hoping that, at least, the movie score would be good. But it's not. It's awful. The movie reduces the music to lame background noise that doesn't take you anywhere. Also, (trying not to give anything away) where the hell did that gun at the end came from? Did Paez just forget to explain why would one of the characters be carrying a gun? It makes no sense. Paez should not quit his day job and stick to songwriting.