The Pleasure Is Mine

Twenty-year-old Antonio (played by the magnetic Max Suen) claims he can't love. Yet, he effortlessly engages in erotic relationships with both older and younger women and men. Each encounter serves him in some way, as after sensual delights, he enjoys searching through the apartments he stayed in, taking a souvenir. Antonio also sells drugs because, like many in post-crisis Argentina, he desperately needs the money. His immature, conflicted mother, with whom he lives, spends every penny. Will he manage to save enough for an escape, somewhere to the south, somewhere forever? In Sacha Amaral's debut, the question of Antonio's escape is less significant than his freewheeling drift around Buenos Aires. Antonio's extraordinary ease in evading the conventions imposed by his surroundings brings him to an almost organic freedom. He echoes many New Wave heroes: wanting to "live his own life" and rushing "to the point of being breathless," often at someone else's expense. The Pleasure is All Mine, which won the last edition of BAFICI in Buenos Aires, is both incredibly carnal and reflective of the fragmented existence in media: in chats, voice messages, or on TV screens, where reflections of old Fritz Lang films can still be seen.