The Pope's Toilet (2007)
(El baño del Papa)
Country: UR/BRA/FR
Technical: col 90m
Director: César Charlone, Enrique Fernández
Cast: César Troncoso, Virginia Méndez, Mario Silva
Synopsis:
Unemployed husbands in a remote Uruguay town next to the Brazilian border scrape a living by running goods over the border on their bikes and dodging the army checkpoint and mobile corrupt official on the way back. As Pope John Paul II's (actual) visit nears, the locals hatch projects to cash in on the expected influx of thousands of daytrippers. One of them, our hero, determines to build and equip a toilet on his front patch, and charge visitors for the convenience.
Review:
Carry on at Your Convenience meets The Bicycle Thief, you might say, but this is a uniquely Latin American slice of vérité humour, bittersweet to the last. The portrait of the family unit - wife who scrimps and saves from doing other people's laundry, daughter who dreams of becoming a radio announcer, husband who dreams and drinks when things go wrong - is honest without being depressing or condescending, and the director is not beyond the odd rhetorical flourish.
(El baño del Papa)
Country: UR/BRA/FR
Technical: col 90m
Director: César Charlone, Enrique Fernández
Cast: César Troncoso, Virginia Méndez, Mario Silva
Synopsis:
Unemployed husbands in a remote Uruguay town next to the Brazilian border scrape a living by running goods over the border on their bikes and dodging the army checkpoint and mobile corrupt official on the way back. As Pope John Paul II's (actual) visit nears, the locals hatch projects to cash in on the expected influx of thousands of daytrippers. One of them, our hero, determines to build and equip a toilet on his front patch, and charge visitors for the convenience.
Review:
Carry on at Your Convenience meets The Bicycle Thief, you might say, but this is a uniquely Latin American slice of vérité humour, bittersweet to the last. The portrait of the family unit - wife who scrimps and saves from doing other people's laundry, daughter who dreams of becoming a radio announcer, husband who dreams and drinks when things go wrong - is honest without being depressing or condescending, and the director is not beyond the odd rhetorical flourish.
(El baño del Papa)
Country: UR/BRA/FR
Technical: col 90m
Director: César Charlone, Enrique Fernández
Cast: César Troncoso, Virginia Méndez, Mario Silva
Synopsis:
Unemployed husbands in a remote Uruguay town next to the Brazilian border scrape a living by running goods over the border on their bikes and dodging the army checkpoint and mobile corrupt official on the way back. As Pope John Paul II's (actual) visit nears, the locals hatch projects to cash in on the expected influx of thousands of daytrippers. One of them, our hero, determines to build and equip a toilet on his front patch, and charge visitors for the convenience.
Review:
Carry on at Your Convenience meets The Bicycle Thief, you might say, but this is a uniquely Latin American slice of vérité humour, bittersweet to the last. The portrait of the family unit - wife who scrimps and saves from doing other people's laundry, daughter who dreams of becoming a radio announcer, husband who dreams and drinks when things go wrong - is honest without being depressing or condescending, and the director is not beyond the odd rhetorical flourish.