Argentinian Lesson

Argentina seen with the documentarian Wojciech Staroń’s eyes differ from the one presented by feature film makers or in travel agent’s catalogues. If there was not a title that suggests the setting, we would have big problems with identifying the country which is presented in the film. In Argentinian Lesson we do not see the picturesque views known from postcards, and the presented characters do not have sex appeal and do not dance passionate tangos. So what do we get? We get a girl who is a worker at a brick plant and picks yerba mate, a bus with child passengers who do not wear shoes, and a teenager who repeats the same grade for the third time. In short – the true Argentina. Less than 10 years old Janek is to the same degree surprised at that wild country as the viewer. The language is not the only barrier for the boy who has come from Europe. The image of that technologically backward, extremely poor and primitive country repels him. Still it does not destroy his child-like curiosity or sensitivity. Becoming to be above petty divisions, Janek also overcomes class barriers, as well as the mentioned language barrier. Staroń, for his part, records the above processes with scrupulousness.