Nadie nos mira

Sad story....a successful Argentinian actor moves to NYC to escape a hopeless relationship with another man in his native country. We see him babysitting, working in a bar, and stealing to get by. His accent is too strong so he has little chance of finding acting work in the USA. The movie highlights the struggles many performing artists face in a world filled with stiff competition and too few jobs. In the end, the actor begins to take charge of his personal and professional life because he has to.....being homeless isn't an acceptable alternative. Production values are decent and lead actor is convincing.

Nico, an Argentinian actor who attained some recognition working in soap operas is trying to find more challenging acting jobs in New York. He survives by doing odd jobs such as babysitting for Andrea, his well-to-do friend from back home. He has an expired visa and shares lodgings with Claire (both are gay). Nico is chasing after some dubious jobs, among them a movie eternally in the preparation stage. Kara, a successful producer lays out clinically his possibilities, or lack thereof. He does not fit in any of the fashionable clichés; he is too fair haired and light skinned to play a Latino and has an accent too thick to "play white." Nico is haunted by a love/hate relationship with his ex-partner Martín, a TV producer who tries to entice Nico to return to Buenos Aires to renew his relation and retake his mediocre career (not even that is certain, though).

This is it. Nothing much happens on screen. The script is clever and deals subtly with problems exiles face, such as the fear of returning home a failure. Being a low income dweller of Manhattan a long time ago I enjoyed such details as Nico picking up used furniture left on the sidewalk for collection. All in all we see real people doing what real people do: talking to each other in sometimes rambling and unfocused ways, acting to unclear motivations, trying to discover what fits them and what of this is attainable. The title, Nadie nos mira, Nobody's Watching probably refers to Nico's frustration at not being noticed in spite of multiple tries.

This moves at a pace that is slower than slow. The film goes nowhere, even though the time passes. It's just pointless to watch this as you will never get back the time wasted!

It has two virtues - Guillermo Phenning and the story of his Nico. The last can be the most significant for part of viewers. Because, the ambiguity, of his situation in New York, the ambiguity of his attitude between nanny and presumed succesful actor, his fights and illusions are very common and define many of us in different senses.

A film about honesty and the obstacle front to it.

About illusions, in the same measure.

And about forms of survive, loneliness, friendship.

I admitt, I real like it without have the impression to discover a great movie but appreciating the honest perspectives about ordinary problemes. And, not the last, the fair work of Guillermo Pfening.

An intense movie about struggling actor with too much pride trying to land an acting gig without letting people know the truth about himself, by hiding the reality. This movie highlights the struggles of many artists in a world filled with stiff competition.