MARTIN (HACHE)

For a film that encompasses the Spanish film industry and the Argentinean punk scene, cocaine binges, hedonistic bisexual thespians and suicide attempts, MARTIN (HACHE) is surprisingly subtle and literate, fueled more by conversation and debate than by sex and drugs. Martin, a celebrated Argentinean director exiled in Spain, is forced to come to terms with life when his estranged slacker son, Martin “Hache,” collapses form a drug overdose in Buenos Aires, then arrives to live with him in Madrid. Rifts in recent Argentine history are echoed in the relationship between father and son: from the mosh pits of Buenos Aires to Madrid's finest restaurants; from grunge chords to jazz riffs; and from wasted youth to bitter old age. When father, son and friends land in Andalusia to scout for film locations, the relationships twist tighter and tensions mount until, finally, something has to give. Acclaimed Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain fashions a souldful tale of two cities and two Martins, filled iwth arrivals, ultimatums and departures. – Sundance Film Festival. (In Spanish with English subtitles)