Silvia Prieto

Twenty-something ennui and the postcollegiate pursuits of love and identity are common motifs in American independent cinema. But they arrive as startlingly fresh when the setting is Buenos Aires and the cast a band of disimpassioned Argentineans, adrift in the sea of lifeless relationships and menial jobs. In this delightful deadpan comedy, author-turned-filmmaker Martin Rejtman makes a stylistic show of his film's no-budget origins, communicating with a breezy, generous wit the universal essence of disaffected youth. Rejtman's tale focuses on Silvia Prieto, a rather unexceptional twenty-seven-year-old whose life's more notable happenings include a short-lived marriage and mastery of the fine art of cappuccino. Restless for change, Silvia travels to the seaside, where she meets a suave Armani-clad Italian and inexplicably walks away with his jacket. However, when "Armani" tracks her down in Buenos Aires, Silvia discovers she is not the only Silvia Prieto in the phone book and learns to her dismay that not even her name is distinctive. With a new job distributing detergent samples and a relationship with her best friend Brite's ex-husband, Silvia becomes obsessed with unraveling the riddle of her identity. Dazed and confused, she wonders, "Might there be even more Silvia Prietos in the greater environs of Buenos Aires?" Rejtman's deep empathy for his characters and earnest love of language make even banal and mundane situations entertaining. Boasting a marvelous cast of professional actors and amateurs, Silvia Prieto delivers immediate laughs and an incredibly sweet aftertaste.