Cast and Crew
Written & Directed by Alvaro Brechner
Starring: Héctor Noguera, Néstor Guzzini, Rolf Becker, Nidia Telles, Leonor Svarcas, Gustavo Saffores, Hugo Piccinini, Nuria Flo
Produced by Alvaro Brechner, Mariana Secco, Roman Paul, Gerhard Meixner
Cinematography: Álvaro Gutierrez
Production design: Gustavo Ramírez
Costume designed: Alejandra Rosasco
Edited: Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Music: Mikel Salas
Additional Songs: Serge Gainsbourg
Production companies: Baobab Films, Salado, Expresso Films, Razor Film Produktion, ZDF/Arte, Memento FIlms
Synopsis
Jacob Kaplan lives an ordinary life in Uruguay. Like many of his other Jewish friends, Jacob fled Europe for South America because of World War II. But now turning 76, he’s become rather grumpy, fed up with his community and his family’s lack of interest in its own heritage. One beach bar may, however, provide him with an unexpected opportunity to achieve greatness and recover his family’s respect in the community: its owner, a quiet, elderly German, raises Mr.Kaplan suspicion of being a runaway nazi. Ignoring his family’s concerns about his health, Jacob secretly recruits Contreras, a more loyal than honest former police officer, to help him investigate. Together, they will try to repeat the historic capture of Adolf Eichmann: by unmasking and kidnapping the German and secretly taking him to justice.
Nominated for Best Latin-American film Foreign Language Film Candidate (Uruguay) Nominated for Best Latin-American film Winner Best Latin-American Film Winner Best Actors Winner Best Actors Winner Best Screenplay Nominated for Best Film Nominated for Best Ibero-American Film Nominated Best Film Winner Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Music
Premios Goya, Spanish Film Academy
Oscar Academy Awards
Premios José María Forque
Mar del Plata Film Festival
Biarritz Film Festival
Montecarlo Film Festival
Huelva Film Festival
Nominated for Best Director
Nominated for Best Screenplay
Nominated for Best Photography
Nominated for Best Art
Nominated for Best Editing
Nominated for Best Sound
Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano
Academy of Motion Picture Arts of Mexico (Ariel Awards)
BFI London Film Festival
Uruguayan Film Critics Association
"Mr. Kaplan probably represents Uruguay’s best shot ever at making the final-‐five shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Oscar… this highly amusing crowd-‐pleaser serio-‐comedy has already chalked up a number of festival outings. Eminently likeable, it has tangible commercial potential as a niche release abroad even without shortlist support." THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (US) "This is a slick package all the way, lively and ironic." VARIETY "For Brechner, nothing human is alien. A thriller that takes humor, pain, mixing it with ultimate truths of life and death." EL PAIS "Told with heart throughout, Alvaro Brechner delivers a hugely entertaining narrative alongside a take- home thought of how far we’d go to honor our heritage." THE LONDON WORLD "Mr. Kaplan feels Alexander Payne-esque with its quirky but grounded sense of humour and a human substance to a slick cinematic style. However, it’s more sprightly than Payne’s work, and delightfully so." AWARDS CIRCUIT on Mr Kaplan "Uruguay's Foreign Film submission is a thoughtful and rewarding joy to watch. I would not be surprised to see it up on the Kodak theatre podium. Mr. Kaplan is a film that takes itself seriously enough to have weight and depth to its characters and themes, but not seriously enough to still have fun while doing it. They main couple make a wonderful twosome, both in their comic and tragic moments." AWARDS CIRCUIT "A delightful take on our desire to feel a purpose in our lives. The film is charming and enjoyable. It’s a neat consideration of ageing and the battles we create for ourselves in order to feel necessary. While touching and warm-hearted, the comedy throughout stops Mr Kaplan from fading into over-sentimental cheese. " SOUNDS AND COLORS "A truly hilarious dramedy, combining humor with swift and intelligent composition of complex characters" LA REPUBLICA "Brechner again makes an intimate film that uses comedy and tragedy alike" -‐ Mathias Davalos, Uy Press "Shot in Uruguay, this film is a wonderful explosion of colour and sunshine… shows Brechner’s exceptional storytelling skill at work. He has a wonderful ability to comment on the frailty and contradictions of human nature while never passing judgment. Instead we see storytelling that takes difficult ideas and the unpalatable parts of human behaviour and looks at them with a respect and humour that allows the audience to be conspirators rather than judge. He also shows his ability to portray characters that have real depth; this film looks at both the small and big moments that make up a life." LOOSE (UK) "Una pequeña nueva joya de Álvaro Brechner que no hay que perderse." VIDEOROMO "A darkly comic and cynical Uruguayan thriller about The Holocaust. " MOVIE NATION