The Distinguished Citizen (2016)

Another Argentine film in the same month? What can I say? The Latin American Film Festival is still going, and I had a Meetup invitation. Might be the last Spanish-language entry I see for the year. (I'm visiting Peru in January, so I'll probably see others then.)

Daniel Montovani is a rich novelist and Nobelist in Spain who does not take popularity well, as he believes that True Art is too shocking to be popular. He turns down all kinds of honors and events -- until he makes an exception for one in his former hometown of Salas, Argentina (not based on a real one). He even goes without his agent or any notice to the press for a change. Salas folk are generally ecstatic to have him put the remote town on the map, but his rude habits catch up with him....

The audience at my theater was eating up the comedy aspect. Much of it stems from Daniel grinning and bearing the kind of attention he'd wanted to avoid. It's arguably worse when the honoring group knows about his pre-fame past and puts together corny presentations on a limited budget. And many of the townies are just quirky.

Which leads to the other side of the coin. Apparently, Daniel drew the bulk of his writing inspiration from Salas. While some people delight in thinking they recognize certain individuals, others take offense at the caricature thereof, saying he makes Salas as a whole look bad. (I wonder if Sherwood Anderson got similar grief for Winesburg, Ohio.) Daniel denies some particular matches but not the overall objection. It does match his usual negativity.

Perhaps a bigger threat than the people who hate Daniel's books are the few who hate what he's done locally. He spends a fair amount of time with his ex -- and her boisterous, semi-friendly husband, who seems eager to win a perceived contest against him. There's also a slutty young fan -- and her man-of-action-and-few-words boyfriend, whom he meets a bit late. I think you get the picture.

I do not cotton to Daniel's philosophies on art (e.g., death of the author) or life (e.g., better to withhold all charity than distribute unevenly). Fortunately, the filmmakers don't either, nor do they expect us to, going by the bilingual Q&A with the writer that followed our screening. He's just another personality, extreme but not exaggerated beyond belief. He may be a jerk typically, but he brings just enough charm and goodness to discourage us from wishing ill on him.

I'm still not sure what the point was, if any, beyond entertainment. Maybe that's all you need. It might also help to see parallels with real people, helping us sense what to do and especially what not to do in similar situations, however unlikely.