There is a singular difficulty in trying to review a film like “Nine Queens” without giving away too much of the twists and turns that make up this delightfully surprising plot. This film comprises so many of the classical con-job movie elements that it has no direct antecedent to any film I can recall. You quite literally don’t know whom to believe until the very last moment in the film. And that is all the fun.

The film begins as a young man, Juan (Gaston Pauls), enters a convenience store to pull a short-change scam. Having succeeded once, he sticks around to attempt it a second time with a new cashier. The alarm is raised when the first cashier spots him. But suddenly, an otherwise innocuous man who had been loitering in the background eating a hotdog rushes in and announces that he is a policeman; flashing a gun he has stuck into the waistband of his pants. He collars Juan, grabs the money for evidence, promises a receipt will be forthcoming from the precinct and then rushes his crook out the door.

Once on the street though, the gun is plastic, and the cop is in reality a fellow shortchange artist, Marco (Ricardo Darin), an old hand at the game of confidence. He likes Juan’s style; sees something in his guts and in his looks that could lead him to bigger and better scores. It just so happens that Marco is in need of another man in his little clique of crooks. Juan should fit in quite nicely.

And then something big comes up. Out of the blue Marco’s estranged sister, Valeria (Leticia Bredice), wants to see him. Valeria is the floor manager in the Hilton Buenos Aires, where it appears that an an old criminal colleague of Marco’s has fallen ill during an attempted con, and wants to see his friend. Fearing a scene, Valeria send word for Marco to come.

What the old man, Sandler (Oscar Nuñez), was planning to do was sell a forged set of stamps to a wealthy collector, who just happens to be an undesirable alien and a guest of the hotel awaiting deportation the next day. But Sandler’s stamps are actually forgeries he’s cooked up. The actual Nine Queens are a one of a kind, flawed production from the Weimar Republic. Sandler has used the right era paper and ink to make his pastiche look and smell like the genuine article. They’re flawless, and will stand up to visual scrutiny, if not actual forensic analysis. The real ones just happen to be in the possession of Sandler’s sister, who will not part with them because they were once a prized possession of her late husband. But the prospective buyer Gandolfo (Ignasi Abadal) will not have the time to arrange for the proper tests. So it will become a game of bluff. But Sandler has fallen ill. It’s now up to Marco to pull off the sale.

So now we have our conundrum: A willing buyer; a set of forgeries that will be passed off as the genuine article while the real stamps still exist; and a new set of con men--Marco, with Juan in tow--who will be entering the deal cold. But Marco is not only a con man; he is also a major thorn in the side of his sister Valeria and his younger brother Federico. The three of them have been at each other’s throats over a family inheritance. So there is nothing that Valeria won’t do to get back at Marco.

At this point I have to stop with my explication and simply herald the pace, tone and intelligence of this film. Darin’s Marco is the epitome of smarmy confidence, and there is simply nothing he won’t do for a quick and dishonest buck. Paul’s Juan is an entirely different kettle of fish. He appears timid and innocent one moment, like someone’s favorite nephew; and in the next moment he’s all smiling confidence. He has the chutzpah to bet Marco that he can talk a strange woman into handing him her purse within three minutes, and then win that bet. Leticia Bredice’s Valeria is a revelation of cool sexiness. Fueled by ambition and a smoldering need for revenge upon Marco, she is also burdened with the role surrogate mother to the youthful and unassuming Federico (Tomas Fonzi).

Writer/Director Fabian Bielinski deserves kudos for creating an intelligent and constantly astonishing narrative that doesn’t bog its characters down for a single instant in its two compelling screen hours. Though Bielinski may not display the verbal acrobatics of a Mamet, (a presumption on my part: I had to rely upon the subtitles like everyone else since my Spanish is toddler-grade and my Portuguese nonexistent); but perhaps a bit more comical riposte would have been welcomed.

If you enjoy a good confidence film, and one certainly without the star-studded posturing of the “Sting” or the angst-ridden pomposity of “House of Games,” then this film should fit the bill. It’s subtitled for the Spanish and Portuguese, so read quickly. Don’t get up for popcorn or rush off for a potty break. Stay with this film every minute. It’s rewarding.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age