VALENTIN
[ 1/2] (two and one-half stars)
Poignant but slight childhood memoir. Running time: 86 minutes. Rated PG-13 (nothing offensive). At the Paris Theater, 58th Street, off Fifth Avenue.
—–
‘VALENTIN” is a sweet, often poignant little film from Argentina – based on director Alejandro Agresti’s own childhood – that just skirts saccharine sentimentality largely thanks to a terrific performance by child star Rodrigo Noya.
He plays 9-year-old “Valentin,” an only child living with his grumpy grandmother (Almodovar favorite Carmen Maura) in the beautiful, very European-looking Buenos Aires of 1969.
Precocious, owl-eyed Valentin wants to be Argentina’s first astronaut and has a workshop where he makes rockets and space suits, but even more than that he wants to have a real family again.
His father (Agresti), a hot-tempered womanizer, comes round from time to time, as does his uncle.
It’s never clear what has happened to his mother but every mention of her provokes his father’s rage.
It’s hinted that her absence may have something to do with Argentina’s political turmoil – (and the fact that she’s Jewish), which overshadows the movie in a pleasingly subtle way.
When Valentin’s father starts dating a particularly beautiful much younger woman (Julieta Cardinali) Valentin works hard but fruitlessly to ensure their relationship works out.
There’s a voice-over narration by Valentin, presumably looking back from a few years hence but voiced by Noya.
Occasionally that voice displays a little too much adult wisdom, but for the most part the movie’s child’s-eye view is convincing as are Valentin’s touching relationships with the quirky adult characters in the neighborhood.