Nine Queens (2000)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

"Nine Queens" is a movie in which we watch two con artists try to make a deal with a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps. Also in their try to make this deal happen they have to give many things in order to get what they want, so we watch them fight with their selves to succeed this.I really liked this movie because of the plot which I believe it was great and in some moments I could not know what to believe or better who to believe. In addition to this I have to say that the direction of Fabian Bielinsky was really good and this is something that we can understand in the whole duration of the film. About the interpretations of this movie I have to mention the very good interpretation of Ricardo Darín who was for one more time outstanding in his role and the interpretations of Gastón Pauls and Leticia Brédice who were equally good.Lastly I want to say that "Nine Queens" is a really different movie than the other Crime - Thriller movies because it combines very good the plot which is perfectly written with the cast. Also I have to say that this movie remind me the movie "The Game" with Michael Douglas which I believe has many common things and one of those is that you can not expect anything and you can not believe anyone.

Marcos, an experienced con artist, takes on the young, inexperienced Juan as an apprentice for a day. A call from Marcos's estranged sister gives them a lead to a big opportunity - a forger has created an exact duplicate of a rare set of stamps, the Nine Queens, which he was trying to sell to a stamp collecting, exiled diplomat who will leave the country the next day. When Marcos comes into possession of the stamps, he engages Juan's help to pull off the con. But as the difficulty increases and obstacles keep falling in their way, it becomes more and more difficult to determine who, exactly, is conning who.Like any great con movie, Nueve Reinas is full of deception and lies. The fun part is unraveling who is conning who, and how they are going about it. Was the whole movie one big con, or does it only seem that way to the viewer? How much was planned beforehand, laying in wait for the two main characters to arrive?Any story about lies is also intimately concerned with trust. Juan trusts Marcos to show him the ropes. Marcos' sister tries to convince their younger brother not to trust him. Juan's father trusts him to stay out of trouble and to bail him out of prison.But in this tangle of truth and lies, who is telling the truth? And what are they getting out of it?Family, friends, and lovers? One of this movie's major themes is the importance of family. As Marcos and Juan become caught up in the con of a lifetime, they are also caught up in a web of family intrigues. Marcos, we learn, has taken his sister and younger brother to court in an attempt to gain all of the family inheritance. His sister hates him. His brother still likes him, and seems to trust him despite everything. But when Marcos convinces his sister to do the unthinkable so that he, Marcos, will get money - what does family mean then? And will his brother still be able to love him? Is Marcos really worthy of love?This theme is repeated throughout the film. One of the first cons Marcos pulls is to trick an old woman into thinking that he is her nephew. Juan is trying to make money to help his dad out of prison. To Marcos, it seems that family is a malleable concept meant to be used to your advantage. And yet we see how lonely Marcos is; his one friend (on this day) seems to be Juan. He has betrayed and abandoned everyone else.Do we see a bit of repentance at the end of the movie? Perhaps. Or maybe Marcos is just sad about all the money he didn't get.

An intelligent thriller film is one which not only has ample elements of thrill but also has enough material to keep viewers glued to the edge of their seats. Nine Queens, a fast paced thriller by Argentinian director Fabián Bielinsky tackles the enviable theme of con men running after stamps having considerable monetary worth. Although it is not a new theme in the history of cinema as Polish author Kieslowski's Decalogue 10 was also about two brothers losing a valuable stamp, Nine Queens does make a mark as a different film as it is literally a training manual for crooks who would like to con gullible people. It is true that the film's main theme is revealed quite late, numerous con tricks by Nine Queens' main protagonists' facilitate the building of excitement in viewers' minds. This helps in the creation of enormous excitement for leading men Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls as they execute their plan without getting conned. The beauty of this film lies in its simplicity as despite a fair amount of crooks with guns not a single shot is fired. This would serve as a indispensable lesson for those directors who would like to bathe their films in human blood.

If you are a fan of hustle/con films and TV shows (Hustle,Leverage,The Sting,Oceans Trilogy etc.) then this is perfect for you. The film starts with a small time grifter scamming a woman who's working the till in a convenience store. The trouble starts however when he tries to do it again on the woman who's working the next shift. When hes caught, an experienced con-man (who is quickly shown as being more willing to risk it) saves him from being handed to the police. And just like that a partnership is formed, things are going well and when a once in a lifetime opportunity seemingly falls into their laps they are quick to take up the offer to make thousands. All they have to do is take some fake stamps and sell them to a collector and he wont have time to check them properly so - its easy money. However everything starts going wrong for them and they find themselves facing the prospect of spending more to make less. Well paced suspense and drama leads to the killer ending where everything is turned upside down with the final twist.Cinema has always been well-suited to con-artist movies, perhaps because the medium itself is based on illusion, deception, and directorial sleight of hand. But Nine Queens (a huge hit in its native Argentina) excels itself and secures itself a spot next to the classics such as the sting and house of games.The films twists and turns never leave the viewer fully aware of whats going on but one things for sure nothing and nobody is quite what they seem.