Bottom of the Sea

Bottom of the Sea (Spanish: El fondo del mar) is a 2003 Argentine comedy drama film written and directed by Damián Szifrón and starring Daniel Hendler, Dolores Fonzi and Gustavo Garzón. It was produced by Sebastián Aloi, Nathalie Cabiron, and Damián Cukierkorn. The associate producers were Diana Frey and Guillermo Otero.[1]

Bottom of the Sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDamián Szifrón
Written byDamián Szifrón
Produced bySebastián Aloi
Nathalie Cabiron
Damián Cukierkorn
StarringDaniel Hendler
Dolores Fonzi
Gustavo Garzón
CinematographyLucio Bonelli
Edited byNicolás Goldbart
Music byGuillermo Guareschi
Release date
  • 11 March 2003 (2003-03-11) (Argentina)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryArgentina
LanguageSpanish

The story deals with jealousy and the maturity required for a person to overcome it.

Synopsis

A slightly neurotic architecture student, Ezequiel Toledo (Daniel Hendler), drops by his girlfriend Ana's (Dolores Fonzi) apartment and finds a man named Aníbal (Gustavo Garzón) hiding under her bed. Aníbal retires quietly without knowing of Ezequiel's discovery, and Ana does not mention him at all. Ezequiel begins to suspect Ana and jealousy fills him. He decides to follow Aníbal, whom he's sure is having an affair with Ana. This is the start of a night's odyssey for Ezequiel, who trails his suspect and starts to gather small details about his life and identity. At one point Ezequiel sets fire to Aníbal's car and threatens his life. The events spiral even more as Ezequiel is later followed by Ana.

Cast

Distribution

The film was first presented at the Mar del Plata Film Festival at the March 11, 2003. It opened wide in Argentina on August 28, 2003.

The film has been screened at some film festivals, including: the Toulouse Latin America Film Festival, France; the Latin America Film Festival, Poland; the Lleida Latin-American Film Festival, Spain; the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain; and others.

Critical reception

Critic Gustavo J. Castagna, reporting from the Mar del Plata Film Festival for FIPRESCI liked the film, and wrote, "El fondo del mar is clearly directed to the box office crowds when made through the use of mixed genres, but it does not fall into any false intents; closer to the aesthetics of Fabian Bielinsky's Nine Queens, El fondo del mar shows that a cinema made with pleasure and formal rigor is still possible."[2]

Neil Young thought the film was an "unassuming but very likeable little comedy with dramatic touches...writer-director makes a very old set-up seem fresh, funny and surprising." Yet, Young thought director Damián Szifrón lost his way at the end.[3]

Awards

Wins

Nominations

  • Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Actor, Daniel Hendler; Best Art Direction, Mariela Rípodas and Lucia Onofri; Best Cinematography, Lucio Bonelli; Best Director, Damián Szifron; Best Film; Best First Film, Damián Szifron; Best Original Screenplay, Damián Szifron; Best Sound, Jesica Suarez, Marcos De Aguirre and Fernando Soldevila; Best Supporting Actress, Dolores Fonzi; 2004.

References
  1. El fondo del mar at IMDb
  2. Castagna, Gustavo J Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. FIPRESCI film review, 2003.
  3. Young, Neil. Neil Young's Film Lounge, reporting from the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, September 25, 2003.
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