The journalist Esteban flees to the northern border of Argentina. He is no longer safe in 1978 Buenos Aires: he is threatened for an article he wrote that has raised eyebrows. Driven by fear and inner conflicts he decides to leave the city as fast as he can. But it turns out to be impossible to cross the border. He returns to a village close to the border, where he stays with father Gabriel, a priest whose ideas and attitude to life are far removed from the traditional church. There Esteban also meets Marina and Margarita, people with a strong conviction too who make a deep impression on him. The film, that is at first hectic and imbued with a continuous feeling of fear, gradually adopts a more sedate tempo as Esteban's nightmares give way to inner peace. His stay in the border village will have a decisive influence on his life. When he eventually gets a chance to cross the border, he has found the strength to see and challenge the danger. So he decides to return to Buenos Aires. It remains unclear whether his fear was justified, but the film clearly shows that a feeling of fear and threat is inherent in daily life in Argentina.
- Director
- Rodolfo Durán
- Premiere
- International premiere
- Country of production
- Argentina
- Year
- 1999
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2000
- Length
- 91'
- Medium
- 35mm
- International title
- Close to the Border
- Language
- Spanish
- Producers
- Opera Prima srl, Gastón Ocampo
- Sales
- Opera Prima srl
- Screenplay
- Eduardo Leiva Müller, Rodolfo Durán