
Ennui-ridden singer Reni (Cecilia Bengolea) falls in love with handsome young street hustler Andrés (Leonardo Brezicki) in this artsy film from Argentine director Veronica Chen. Reni first spies Andrés servicing a male client in the ATM kiosk where he does most of his business (the homoerotic scenes are captured mainly via the bank's security camera). They become friends and together wander the Buenos Aires streets, philosophizing, striking disaffected poses, and eventually... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Links compiled using automated software. Availability of offers subject to change / might be region specific / out of date.
Ennui-ridden singer Reni (Cecilia Bengolea) falls in love with handsome young street hustler Andrés (Leonardo Brezicki) in this artsy film from Argentine director Veronica Chen. Reni first spies Andrés servicing a male client in the ATM kiosk where he does most of his business (the homoerotic scenes are captured mainly via the bank's security camera). They become friends and together wander the Buenos Aires streets, philosophizing, striking disaffected poses, and eventually falling into bed together. Reni tries being a prostitute herself but she isn't as enthralled with getting paid as Andrés. Eventually this comes between them. Argentine director Veronica Chen also wrote and edited the film, which achieves an almost abstract sense of beauty at times via extreme slow-motion shots of Andrés wandering the neon-drenched avenidas--standing, rollerblading, and waiting to hustle and or be hustled. Lovers of international art films will enjoy the philosophical, faux-Godardian attitude and dissonant, heavily percussive score. Frequent shots of the attractive leads lounging around in their underwear provides extra sex appeal, and may invite comparisons to the films of Larry Clark and the advertisements of Calvin Klein.
Leave your thoughts about Smokers Only.
| Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasA venturesome, beautifully realized psychological mood piece that reveals its first-time feature director's understanding of the expressive power of the camera. |
| TV Guide MagazineKen FoxThe film is a gorgeous nocturne of surprisingly little substance, a sleek advert for youthful anomie that never quite equals the sum of its pretensions. |
| Film Journal InternationalDavid NohChen films the resolutely downbeat Smokers Only with every indulgent, indie trick in the book. |
| VarietyDennis HarveyA walk on the "dark side" that moves far more slowly than limited character insight requires. |
| New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanA jumbled composite of blurred images, poetic yearnings and metaphoric dialogue. |
| Village VoiceNick RutiglianoDetached performances and a murky sound mix further the sense of suspended animation. |
| L.A. WeeklyMark OlsenThere is a great divide between a film about people in the throes of aimless, meandering lives and a film that is simply aimless and meandering. Smokers Only never acknowledges, let alone bridges, that gap. |
| New York TimesDave KehrToo predictable to leave much of an impression. |
| User ReviewPrivate UGreat movie I saw in New York when on honeymoon. Seemed to reflect my feelings at the time. I understood completely the sacrifice the girl made! |
| User ReviewLeonardo - Malacay - SBuenos Aires el gran pulpo! amor de ratos y ratos de amor al mejor postor |