Sábado (Saturday), Juan Villegas, Argentina, 2001, 72 minutes
A Saturday in a desolate and almost unrecognisable Buenos Aires. A couple accustomed to their daily boredom, a girl who has decided that she wants to be alone, her boyfriend who does not want to accept the fact, a famous actor who does not seem to be at ease anywhere, and a girl who thinks she has fun without noticing that she is always bored. It is a melancholic comedy about discomfort and fear. And one of those films of stories crossing each other, with characters adrift in the middle of the big city.
Juan Villegas’ debut could be described as a mixture of Eric Rohmer’s type of situations with the melancholy humour of Martín Rejtman, who two years before had released his second feature film, Silvia Prieto (1999). Nobody communicates with anyone on Saturday, although they try. They talk and talk and talk, but it is all a collection of monologues. Until silence comes. Until Sunday arrives, the perfect metaphor for the end of one stage and the beginning, perhaps, of something that none of the characters yet knows how to define.
Prize for best film at the 2002 Sarajevo Festival.
It is a melancholic comedy about discomfort and fear. And one of those films of stories crossing each other, with characters adrift in the middle of the big city.