Valentín

The eponymous narrator of Agresti's semi-autobiographical film, set in Argentina around the time of Che Guevara's death, is the oldest eight-year-old in the world. Aspiring astronaut Valentín (the adorable Noya) endures a lonely home life with his embittered, paranoid, ailing grandma (Maura). Valentín's womanising, hair-trigger dad (Agresti) makes irregular disruptions, while no one can (or will) account for where mum might be. The friendship of goofy, piano-playing neighbour Rufo (Urtizberea) parts the clouds, as does a stunning arrival in dad's rotation of lady friends - Leticia (Cardinali), an approachable goddess in frosted lipstick and Jackie K wardrobe. In love at first sight, Valentín becomes a merry chat machine under her benevolent presence, and cranks out a few nuggets about Leticia's new boyfriend that plant a sour taste in her mouth. This slender, winsome feature takes shape as a kid's dogged quest for companionship, which leads to sidelines as Samaritan, musician and matchmaker. The director reaches for an aura of wondrous, easily bruised innocence, but the studied simplicity can err towards the insipid, especially when he grapples with dad's anti-semitism. Firmly in the honeyed Tornatore tradition, the film places a premium on child's-eye realism that results in an occasionally childish movie. JWin.