Anita (2009)

Anita is a girl who suffers from Down Syndrome and lives with her mother in the Once neighborhood in Buenos Aires. On July 18, 1994, the bombing attack on the AMIA changes her life forever.

Director:

Marcos Carnevale

Writers:

Marcos Carnevale, Marcela Guerty

Stars:

Norma Aleandro, Luis Luque, Leonor Manso

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norma Aleandro	...	Dora
Luis Luque	...	Felix
Leonor Manso	...	Nora
Alejandra Manzo	...	Anita
Peto Menahem	...	Ariel
Mercedes Scápola	...	Nati
Huang Hui Shion	...	Lee
Mei Lan Chen	...	Zang
Mateo Cho	...	Cheng
Paula Wu	...	Esposa Cheng
Hana Li	...	Bebé chino
Isidoro Tolcachir	...	Saúl
Alfredo Castellani	...	Cucho
Carlos Portaluppi	...	Boterito
Nicolás Arrieta	...	Ezequiel (as Pablo Nicolas Arrieta)

Storyline

Anita is the story of a young woman with Down syndrome (Alejandra Manzo) who lives a happy, routine life in Buenos Aires, being meticulously cared for by her mother Dora (Academy Award nominee Norma Aleandro). One tragic morning in 1994, everything changes when Anita is left alone, confused and helpless after the nearby Argentine Israelite Mutual Association is bombed (the deadliest bombing in Argentina's history). As Anita wanders through the city, she learns not only to care for herself, but touches the lives of those around her, from an alcoholic to a family of Asian immigrants. Anita is the latest from renowned filmmaker Marcos Carnevale, director of "Elsa & Fred".

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Plot Keywords:

down syndrome | supermarket | nurse | lost girl | jewish | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

A Bailar
Written and performed by Francisco Javier Quesada

User Reviews

Alejandra Manzo. Incredible.

Every so often I watch an old Argentinian movie on You tube. For reasons unknown to me, most of those copies are in such rotten condition that most of the time they deflate your desire to watch the movie.

Specially those from the 20s, 30s, 40s and fifties.

What happened, they don't care about the preservation of our historical patrimony? From the 60s to the present there seems to be no problem with audio and visuals.

I mentioned that historical period of Argentinian movie making because the transition from that bland, amateurish, mediocre industry to what became later in the XXth century is something to be seen to believe it - I place the dividing line with "La historia oficial"- "Official Story", 1985, a movie that was a sort of an earthquake (at least for me) a jaw dropping jewel of a movie that defined a new standard of excellency for the Argentinian cinema.

More expert critics with our industry will certainly place that dividing line somewhere else.

And since then, many jewels adorn our cinema. Like this one, "Anita". Wow, what an excellent movie!! Every thing about it is top drawer, from the director down to the last extra. And same thing can be said about the cinematography. Peerless. The girl playing Anita -Alejandra Manzo- fitted the perfect casting like a glove fits a hand, a dream of any director when having to convey Down syndrome with that awesome understanding and delicacy respecting the sensibilities of actors and audiences alike.

Very moving film in most scenes, without being wimpy. Something utterly difficult to hold back in this case, where the director could have gone overboard with emotions creating a tsunami of tears. I assume the girl playing Anita is not, in real life, as incapacitated as the character in the film, otherwise it must have been a miracle to have her saying her lines as she did.

To me, Anita's character is the most pathetic I've seen since "Precious", 2009, with Gabourey Sidibe, and of course Gelsomina, in "La Strada", 1954, that unforgettable Fellini's masterpiece.

Details

Country:

Argentina

Language:

Spanish Hebrew Mandarin

Release Date:

27 August 2009 (Argentina)

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$409,068

Company Credits

Production Co:

Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA), Shazam S.A.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1