Nine Queens

The winner of a host of awards in its native country, Argentina, Fabian Bielinsky's 'Nine Queens' is an inventive and accomplished crime caper film with a devious streak. Juan (Gaston Pauls) is a small time thief who veteran scammer Marcos (Darin) takes under his wing for a day. It's a particularly eventful day, however, because the pair of men stumbles across a massive deal involving forged stamps, which they hope to sell to a collector. Problems arise when it emerges that the millionaire collector is staying in the same hotel that Marcos' embittered and estranged sister, Valeria (Bredice) works in.

Although it's apparent that Bielinsky's debut has been heavily influenced by the likes of Hitchcock and David Mamet ('House of Games', in particular) 'Nine Queens' is - an absurdly ambitious ending aside - an impressive work by a talented young director. The entire cast does good work - Gaston Pauls is especially impressive as the cunning but self-doubting youngster - but the film really belongs to the imagination of writer/director Bielinsky. Worth a look.