Nine Queens (2001)

Nine Queens joins a line of sly thrillers about master-pupil con artists and games within games within games that includes The Sting, House of Games, and Heist. In the first five minutes, we watch an overt scam--a young Argentinian named Juan (Gastón Pauls) running the two-10s-for-a-5 hornswoggle on a convenience store clerk--then find that we have been tricked along with the bystanders as another brand of deception kicks in. And so it goes as Juan, with both trepidation and excitement, drifts into partnership for a day with an older, more cosmopolitan conman, Marcos (Ricardo Darín). Knocking around Buenos Aires--from gritty downtown to cozy neighborhood side streets to a swank hotel where wealth murmurs behind every door--these damnably resourceful scoundrels try not to miss a bet, including an epic swindle involving the titular "Nine Queens," a set of ultrarare stamps. Writer-director Fabián Bielinsky keeps a taut rein on everything, including his own cleverness. The end result is an entertainment as bracingly disciplined as it is ingenious. --Richard T. Jameson Amazon.com

Watch it twice!

Quite simply stupendous with constant tension and superb acting. You're never quite sure where this is going, but the by the finale, you'll have learned you were wrong!

Six stars! October 7, 2008

An Argentinian Gem

If you ever need a reminder that you can make a class A film on a
shoe-string budget, rent Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens), a marvelous,
gripping, and often very funny drama about the culture of con-men and
those whom they con. I'm not sure what the budget of this film was, and
I'm sure the very professional and excellent actors and crew were
well-paid, but my point is that the story-line and direction are what
make this film, and the actors are so well-cast that it all comes off
without a hitch. Unlike some con-movies, the whole thing is believable
and I had a hard time finding holes in the plausibility post-facto.
Leticia Bredice, who played a vulnerable, sexpot-victim in _Cenizas del
Paraiso_, plays *quite* an impressively different character here.
Ricardo Darin and Gaston Pauls are fascinating and marvelous. I'll let
you decide for yourselves whether there's any transcendent message in
this film, but even without, it's some serious fun. July 19, 2008

Who is conning who?

Nine Queens is a pretty good Argentinean movie full of cons and twists that you are never really sure who is cunning who. Two con men partner to carry out a con that will get them a lot of money: selling a counterfeit copy of the Nine Queens Stamps. Along the way to carry their con they have to deal with conning each other, staying sharp, theft of the nine queens, people that want money to stay quiet and a sister that a bit bitter about an inheritance she was supposed to get and never received. Too bad they really need her help to carry out the con. The movie keeps you interested in what is going on and very concentrated trying to figure out who is cunning who. The movie has tons of twists, turns and cons that keep on coming to the very end. July 17, 2008

a true gem

This is my favorite of all times - amongst the foreign pictures :)

This Argentinian film tells the story of two swindlers who meet by pure luck, or is it really? and they set up together a scam surrounding the Nine Queens stamps.

Director Fabian Bielinsky has a passion for Wilder and Mankiewicz's films, and more precisely for their elaborate double-crossing deceits, as is obvious in this film.

The movie is a true gem that is most unfortunately forgotten because of all the blockbusters; it should definitely be on everyone's list to watch as the ending is quite surprising.
June 5, 2008

Charming light thriller

Juan, a small-time thief, gets caught swindling a store, but Marcos, a more experienced con man, gets him out of that jam and says he'll teach the younger man the ropes. A former associate of Marcos's who is a master forger says he's designed a fake copy of an extremely rare German set of stamps known as the "Nine Queens" they can sell quick and dear to a wealthy collector who has to flee the country in a day or so to escape an investigation. Their pigeon is lodged at the Hilton where Marcos's shapely sister has a legitimate job and is not happy to see him back on the premises -- not least because he's held up their inheritance in legal limbo. This 2000 Argentinian film, written and directed smoothly by first timer Fabian Bielinsky, and competently acted by all the principles as well as an array of eccentric supporting roles, has been likened to David Mamet's "House of Games," but it also reminded me of "The Sting," because it has a light, playful quality with almost none of the in-your-face violence of, say, Guy Ritchie's films or "Sexy Beast." A delightful piece of entertainment. May 3, 2008

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