The Fundy Film Society

Nine Queens

A winner of audience awards at film festivals around the world, this taut, teasing heist flick provides a thrill ride that closely follows and further enriches the patent forged by Alfred Hitchcock and David Mamet. Juan (Gastón Pauls), a charismatic young con artist, finds he still has a lot to learn when he’s busted by a shop-keeper and hauled away by a cop who happens to be nearby. But the cop, it turns out, is a veteran grifter named Marcos (Ricardo Darín, Son of the Bride). The older, more experienced Marcos has a juicy mark all lined up, but his partner has mysteriously vanished and Juan is persuaded, reluctantly, to fill the position. Marcos has arranged to sell a rare collection of stamps, the nine queens, to a buyer who is being deported from the country the next day. He also coerces his sultry sister Valeria (Leticia Brédice, Burnt Money), who trusts him even less than Juan, into playing a part in the scam. Needless to say, nothing and nobody is quite what they seem, since we’re firmly within the twisty mini-genre typified by Mamet’s House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner. As the action moves from humble barrios to luxury hotels, it soon seems as though the whole city is part of an elaborate plot. Bielinsky keeps us constantly on our toes, taunting us to keep up with the rat-a-tat dialogue, the coincidences and contrivances, and the dizzying switchbacks of double and triple crosses. Saturated with South American sexiness, Darin and Pauls share a brooding, soulful camaraderie, while Leticia Brédice nearly sets the screen on fire with her ferocious diva strut.

“An elegant and sly deadpan comedy.” – Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

“Nueve Reinas leaves you feeling tense and terrific.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

“A crackling, clever tour de force.” – Jonathan Perry, The Boston Globe

“The kind of movie that seduces you.” – Steven Holden, The New York Times