Juan Jose Campanella is one of Argentina’s most important directors and screenwriters of the past 20 years, having participated in world-renowned productions. Amazingly, his original career path was far from cinema: Campanella studied engineering for several years and had plans to forge a future in the field. But a screening of the film It’s a great lifedirected and produced by Frank Capra, led him to discover his passion (according to his interview with NPR), and from 1979 he never stopped working on short films, films and TV series. However, his career is not only made up of national productions: Campanella studied at NYU film school and later directed The boy that bitch cried and Love came inthe latter in co-production with Argentina.
Like any director, Campanella has his own select group of actors who work with him in many of his films, such as Ricardo Darín, Eduardo Blanco and Soledad Villamil. Many of his productions have been awarded worldwide. El Hijo de la Novia and El Secreto de Sus Ojos were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the last of which won in 2010. But besides working in films, Campanella took part in numerous TV productions as a director, writer and producer. Among the most notable are: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Houseand Vientos de Agua. Let’s take a look at his best movies.
6/6 Metegol (underdogs)
Metegol is a 2013 film co-produced by Argentina and Spain, directed by Campanella and co-written by him and Eduardo Sacheri, Gastón Gorali, and Axel Kuschevatzky. Based on the short story Memoirs of a right winger by Roberto Fontanarrosa, Metegol follows Amadeo, a young man from a small town who leads an everyday life. His main hobby is playing table football in a bar, and eventually he becomes an expert at it. Several years pass and an unwelcome visitor comes to the city: Grosso, an obnoxious young man turned famous football player, announces that he has bought the city and is going to build a large stadium there. He also wants to take revenge on Amadeo, who beat him at foosball when they were children. Amadeo is not ready yet because although he is a great table football player, he is not very good at football. Fortunately, the figures of the foosball table come to life and they are ready to start a new match with him and thus restore peace in the city.
5/6 El Cuento de las Comadrejas (The Story of the Weasel)
El Cuento de las Comadrejas is Campanella’s most recent film to date, in which he also co-produced and co-writer. This remake of the 1976 film Los Muchachos de Antes No Usaban Arsenico stars Graciela Borges, Luis Brandoni, Oscar Martínez, Marcos Mundstock, Nicolás Francella and Clara Lago, and was released in 2019. In it, we meet Mara, a retired movie star who lives quietly with three other industry colleagues as they walk through the twilight of their live as they reminisce about their golden years. Their harmony is disrupted by two young people who plan to steal their old mansion, but these artists are ready to do anything to stop them.
4/6 Luna de Avellaneda (the moon of Avellaneda)
the social club Luna de Avellaneda has been in the area for years, but due to the crisis in the country, the owner wants to turn it into a casino. The institution’s employees, who are very fond of the club, refuse to give up their community. Therefore, Román, one of the club’s longtime members, is determined to take action and join forces with Graciela and Amadeo to try to save the place and keep their community alive. Starring Ricardo Darín, Mercedes Morán and Eduardo Blanco, this 2004 blockbuster is inspired by the true story of the Juventud Unida de Llavalol Club during the Argentine crisis of 2001.
3/6 El Mismo Amor, la Misma Lluvia (Same Love, Same Rain)
Ricardo Darín and Soledad Villamil play in El Mismo Amor, la Misma Lluvia (Same love, same rain) as Jorge and Laura, a couple who enter into an on-again, off-again relationship over the course of 20 years. Jorge is a promising young writer, but he earns a living by working for a magazine. Laura, on the other hand, is an aspiring actress who works as a waitress. Their relationship goes through ups and downs, and in the process they navigate different social and political situations in Argentina. This 1999 film was nominated in 13 categories at the Argentine Film Critics Association Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay, among others.
2/6 El Hijo de la Novia (son of the bride)
2001, El Hijo de la Novia (Son of the Bride), written by Campanella along with Fernando Castets, was released, a critical and blockbuster production that earned a Silver Condor for Best Picture at the Argentine Film Critics Association Awards. In it, Ricardo Darín stars as Rafael, a man who recently inherited his father’s restaurant and is overwhelmed with too many responsibilities. With so little time, he neglects his daughter, his partner and even his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, let alone time to build his friendships. But after a heart attack, he is forced to rethink his life and work with his father to fulfill his mother’s lifelong dream of getting married in a church. Darín is joined in this production by Héctor Alterio and Norma Aleandro.
1/6 El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The secret in their eyes)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos is undoubtedly Campanella’s masterpiece, navigating a story full of mysteries to be unearthed. In it, Darín stars as Benjamín, a retired judicial officer who has never been able to leave an unsolved case behind: the rape and murder of Liliana Colotto in 1974. He goes through an existential crisis and uses all the free time he has now. . Benjamín wants to write a book on the case, in an effort to understand and solve the case once and for all. However, he soon becomes too involved in this dark crime again. El Secreto de Sus Ojos was the highest grossing film of 2009 and one of the highest grossing films in the history of Argentine cinema. It was also the one who created Campanella. earned his first Oscar. Darín is joined in the cast by well-known stars from this director’s productions, such as Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago and Guillermo Francella.