I gave this film as high as a 4 mostly because it does bring a certain fascination in watching such a self entitled and deluded feminist snot get a real street life comeuppance. There is some verite in that.To call the lead actress, who turns street / club hooker "beautiful" as a couple of reviewers do must be a joke. Or else plugs by female or male friends of hers. She's a 5 at best on a 10 scale, particularly by Argentine standards (where she may be a 4). She also has a boyish body and an utterly apparent heavily feminist, resentful attitude towards men. The sole thing she has going for her is being in her 20s.She does the opposite of exude sexiness. Instead she exudes a sense of entitlement for being a 20 something girl and a self identifying actress, though not at all a successful one. Frankly I was amazed and non believing that she could be at all successful as anything but a bottom of the price ladder street hooker not to mention club hooker, with her non looks, non body and non sexiness, and radiating hostile resentment. I'd never pick her, no matter how thin the competition. This was in other words an entirely feminist entitled and angry look at prostitution, from the frame among many other clichéd things you can guess and be right, of believing absolutely any 20 something girl can demand and get top street dollar as a hooker. Well at least if she isn't obese.She richly deserves to be sacked at her waitressing job which she takes utterly for granted despite the fact her rent is way overdue and she has no money for food or anything else, and even though she's obviously just barely not already been sacked for repeated prior lateness etc., at the time when she actually is. She's utterly alienated and exasperated her comfortable but not rich professional father and it seems the rest of her family, which she's long stopped communicating with. She also has "too much pride" to really tell him the dire straights she's in. In fact she proclaims to him "I do have a job" when she's just been sacked from it earlier that day.What is there to like about this girl? I found absolutely nothing. I couldn't stand her in any way.I found myself practically cheering when after repeatedly trying to cheat men by giving them less than they'd paid for in every encounter, the last man of her night forcibly takes what he paid for. After giving her 200 pesos (which by then we know is high dollar for full on sex over a good long time period in a room), and she then tries to immediately bolt the room after giving him a preliminary blowjob that maybe took all of five minutes if that, he forcibly stops her from leaving and forcibly takes the full on sex with her he'd paid for, while angrily telling her street slags are plentiful, and she moans back, "I am not a puta" (whore). Not only is she one, but a plain Jane, highly unpleasant cheating puta who's totally not worth bottom peso. Hooray, she was forcibly made to provide what the customer she solicited paid high pesos for.All you rad feminists and manginas can get outraged all you want. To call what happens to her in the end rape as one user reviewer did is ridiculous. Sure you can rape prostitutes but he paid top dollar and she tried to run out with just a five minute blow job, which clearly wasn't what he paid for. He forced her to give him what he did pay for. That isn't rape. If she'd offered him back all but 50 pesos, maybe, but she hardly did that. The self styled entitled serial thief. Just like she tried to steal from the guy she rather liked but didn't want to, who paid her 300 pesos to spend the night. And then ran off after one shag and his dozing off – until he caught her and took back most (but not all, he probably took back 200 pesos it seemed) of what he'd paid her, saying, rightly "that's all you're worth").She richly deserved it and I hope she was taught a lesson. Beautiful young girl? Not by the furthest stretch, in any way whatsoever. She's horrid. But perhaps no longer feeling so invulnerable nor entitled. Which would be a good thing.

The acting seemed wooden to me. She was the same person before and after she turns to the world's oldest profession. OK, jobs are hard to come by, I get that - but then she can't even keep hers. Her uncle runs a restaurant, she could work there too. I'm not saying it would be biscuit city, but there appear to be other options. So, in one night she becomes a hardened whore - the character never really changed. She jumps right in to a lifestyle where nobody is a real person and everybody wants something from somebody. And she was no different! She didn't need any training in becoming a hooker, she seems to have been born saying "where's my money?"Pacing was slow and there were one too many "riding behind her on the motor scooter" shots.Not buying it - a waste of time.

This Argentine film came as a total surprise when it was shown in a cable channel recently. Alejandro Chomski has directed the film, which presents us with a young woman at a point in her life, so bleak, that appears hopeless.If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.The beautiful Antonella Costa, is Paula, an aspiring actress and a waitress in a restaurant. When we first meet her, she is seen in a restless state trying to get money from the ATM, without any luck. In a way, she must be expecting a miracle, knowing full well there is no money in the account. To make matters worse, the play she is seen rehearsing, will not open in a while and she loses her job at the bistro because she's been late three times, recently.The film follows Paula through the streets of Buenos Aires trying to get a kind soul to lend her money to help her pay the back rent she owes to a landlord that wants her to give him what she owes. Everyone she asks to help, can't do anything for her. Even her own father, questions her instead of being kind. In desperation, Paula goes to see a friend who is a prostitute. She feels that she will be able to get the funds she needs in order to survive by taking to the streets with this young woman. Things go from bad to worse. Everything she touches turns out to be wrong. The people she meets are predators that want their money's worth; they all use Paula to satisfy their own needs. The only kind soul she meets appears to be Raul, the Spaniard executive, but Paula doesn't want any part of him.This film reflects the reality in Argentina in the turmoil that followed recent catastrophic government measures that left the people impoverished and unemployed because of the hard times the country was going through. That anxiety and despair is what we see in young Paula. There is not a ray of hope, which was the point Mr. Chomski, the director was trying to make.The film owes everything to one of the most amazing performances by an actress in recent memory: Antonella Costa. She is the embodiment of Paula, the young woman at the center of the story. It's painful, at times, to watch what Paula is going through in front of our eyes. Yet, the film ends with a moment of reflexion and perhaps hope, as Paula gets out of the taxi that is taking her home, after a hard night, and she faces the immensity of the river as the sun is rising in the distance. In fact, we realize at this moment that Paula and the country she represents, will survive.Watch this movie in order to see the magnificent young actress, Antonella Costa!

This movie was shown as part of "A certain regard" in Cannes Film Festival this year (2003). It was well received by the critics and shows that Antonella Costa (Garage Olimpo, Figli/Hijos) is an excellent actress and that she has a bright future. The movie is a reflection of the crisis in Argentina which lead people to do things that normally should not happen. It is Alejandro Chomsky's first feature, and was obviously finished before the new Argentinian president's election. Fortunately, although still a bit too early to be sure, there are some encouraging signs of optimism in Argentina. Anyway the economical situation is still critical and the unemployment (in a certain way one of the movie's subject) is always very high in Argentina. This movie shows that there is a lot of young talent in this country. Let's hope it will be released abroad.