This movie can only be understood in the context of the Argentine situation at the time. The year 1999 was the last of Carlos Menem's presidency. Menem's regime was an unqualified disaster, not unlike Boris Yeltsin's tenure in Russia. Free market policies were applied with a vengeance, dictated by international organizations like the IMF and the World Bank. Corruption was rife, state assets were liquidated at bargain prices and debts (mostly fraudulent) incurred by private banks were "nationalized" by the government. Social services were starved of funds or privatized, and unemployment soared. The post-Menem government was no improvement and the economy careened towards implosion, which occurred at the end of 2001 under the weight of an unsustainable foreign debt. It was a time of despair, reflected in this relentlessly dark film which has been absurdly described a "comedy". Even the title, "Felicidades", a greeting used in Argentina for holidays (Christmas in this case) is a sinister joke.
This said, the movie is not entirely satisfactory and the script has weaknesses. The constant frustrations experimented by all characters are germane to the subject but become tiresome after a while; in fact, there seems to be a general inability to make even the simplest decisions. The ransacking of an apartment by policemen/thieves seems illogically stretched out; why not take the loot and run? Are the neighbor and two witnesses really necessary? Is it so difficult to dispose of a dead dog at night in a big city? And so on.
There are also strengths in this film, among them an unfailing ear for dialog and excellent direction of actors. This is the only movie (except for shorts) by director Lucho Bender. His promise was truncated by his untimely death in 2004 at the age of 46.
This said, the movie is not entirely satisfactory and the script has weaknesses. The constant frustrations experimented by all characters are germane to the subject but become tiresome after a while; in fact, there seems to be a general inability to make even the simplest decisions. The ransacking of an apartment by policemen/thieves seems illogically stretched out; why not take the loot and run? Are the neighbor and two witnesses really necessary? Is it so difficult to dispose of a dead dog at night in a big city? And so on.
There are also strengths in this film, among them an unfailing ear for dialog and excellent direction of actors. This is the only movie (except for shorts) by director Lucho Bender. His promise was truncated by his untimely death in 2004 at the age of 46.