Stimulating cinema: Bolivia

Directed by Adrian Caetano and released in 2001, "Bolivia" is about the lives of immigrants in Buenos Aires. Freddy (Freddy Waldo Flores) has just arrived from Bolivia and lands a job working as a cook for Mr. Enrique (Enrique Liporace). The other worker is waitress Rosa (Rosa Sanchez), who is a Paraguayan with an Argentine mother and whose looks attract the attention of the men around her--co-workers and customers alike.

Freddy gets 15 pesos a day for what seems like a 10 or 12-hour shift. Obviously, that doesn't go far--it takes about half that just to make a 5-minute phone call back home (and that's with the "discount" he gets for dropping his boss' name). Freddy's sadness is palpable but he does good work and rolls with the punches, including some harassment from a pair of neighborhood cops.

Interestingly, except for peripheral characters like those officers, the only Argentine we actually see working is Mr. Enrique. And he more like a (less than) benevolent patriarch figure than a "get in the trenches and kick butt" worker. Freddy and Rosa carry the load and when they get together for a drunken one-night stand, you can understand (although Freddy is cheating on his wife back home and conveniently forgetting the love for his three daughters).

The patrons include cab driver Marcelo (Marcelo Videla) and his buddy, Oso, a totally pathetic figure. Oso (Oscar 'Oso' Bertea) has run up a big tab at the restaurant for which he has yet to settle up. He promises the money will come as soon as his nebulous lawsuit is settled and he is forever complaining about the "thieving Uruguayans" who have "gypped" him out of his car. Despite these woes, Oso manages to come up with money to support his cocaine habit. Another patron is the salesman Hector (Hector Anglada), who may or may not be gay and may or may not have a crush on Freddy.

Tensions rise over the course of the film, with Oso growing more and more irrational. If he worked at a job as much as he worked his mouth, he'd be the richest guy in Buenos Aires. But instead he begrudges Freddy and his lousy 15 pesos a day. His dislike for Freddy is almost immediate and his prejudices gradually ooze out, leading to a climactic showdown.

This is truly a great movie, much better than I am probably making it sound. It's filmed in black and white and is beautifully grungy. The music is really cool--I'm pretty sure it's indigenous Bolivian music mixed with modern touches. There is power in this film and it makes you stop and think too. Everyone in this movie has some kind of hustle but not everyone gets what they deserve.