24 hours in the lives of two con artists – played by Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls – on the streets of Buenos Aires, who try to make their fortune by selling counterfeit rare stamps to a collector. Fabián Bielinsky’s delightful 2000 film about low-life swindlers has a 4K cinematic and Blu-ray re-release, and deserves your attention.
I can’t remember exactly when I first watched Nine Queens – an Argentinian tale of con artists written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky – but I do know that I haven’t watched it since that first viewing. There’s even a physical copy on DVD staring at me from the shelf in the corner right now, but I’ve avoided a rewatch for around 20 years. The reason? Nine Queens was just perfect, and I didn’t want my first impression to be spoiled.
Learning about a new 4K restoration therefore was a conundrum. Seeing the streets of wonderful Buenos Aires, filmed on Steadicam some 25 years ago and now sharpened up, would be a delight – but what if the film itself wasn’t?
I’m here to say that I was not disappointed. That gap in viewing meant that I had forgotten some (but not all) of the tricks, and the twisty-turny nature of the narrative was just as clever and intriguing as I had remembered.
Argentine legend Ricardo Darín plays Marcos, a flashy con artist who rescues a younger man from being apprehended when he tries to pull the same scam on two separate convenience store cashiers in the same evening. This more inexperienced man is Juan (Gastón Pauls), a somewhat innocent-looking trickster who needs money to help out his aged father. The chance meeting couldn’t be more opportune for Marcos, who is in search of a new partner for 24 hours to help him with his deceptions, as his usual side-kick has gone awol.
Prompted by an old ailing associate of Marcos, and enlisting the unwilling assistance of Marcos’ estranged sister Valeria (Leticia Brédice), the two embark on a ruse to sell a sheet of forged stamps (the eponymous Nine Queens) to a Spanish collector with a less-than-clean sheet himself.
The narrative never settles for too long; as things go wrong and plans change, the audience is never quite sure who to believe at any moment. Allegiances switch from Marcos to Juan and back again according to where we feel our trust lies over the 24 hour period we spend with them. Marcos seems to be pulling Juan along with his crazy ideas, then Juan proves himself indispensable with his ability to charm grandmothers out of prized possessions with just a gentle smile.
It’s only in the very final scene that the audience discovers enough to piece together exactly what has transpired over the previous 24 hours, and it is a delight.
Rightly named as one of the top Argentine films of all time, Nine Queens deserves to step into the spotlight again, and this 4K re-release will hopefully introduce its delightful trickery and intricacies to a whole new audience. As well, or course, as reminding those revisiting just how good it is.
Nine Queens has a theatrical re-release on 11th July 2025, and the newly restored Blu-ray will be released on 11th August, with preorders available now.
24 hours in the lives of two con artists – played by Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls – on the streets of Buenos Aires, who try to make their fortune by selling counterfeit rare stamps to a collector. Fabián Bielinsky’s delightful 2000 film about low-life swindlers has a 4K cinematic and Blu-ray re-release, and deserves your attention.
I can’t remember exactly when I first watched Nine Queens – an Argentinian tale of con artists written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky – but I do know that I haven’t watched it since that first viewing. There’s even a physical copy on DVD staring at me from the shelf in the corner right now, but I’ve avoided a rewatch for around 20 years. The reason? Nine Queens was just perfect, and I didn’t want my first impression to be spoiled.
Learning about a new 4K restoration therefore was a conundrum. Seeing the streets of wonderful Buenos Aires, filmed on Steadicam some 25 years ago and now sharpened up, would be a delight – but what if the film itself wasn’t?
I’m here to say that I was not disappointed. That gap in viewing meant that I had forgotten some (but not all) of the tricks, and the twisty-turny nature of the narrative was just as clever and intriguing as I had remembered.
Argentine legend Ricardo Darín plays Marcos, a flashy con artist who rescues a younger man from being apprehended when he tries to pull the same scam on two separate convenience store cashiers in the same evening. This more inexperienced man is Juan (Gastón Pauls), a somewhat innocent-looking trickster who needs money to help out his aged father. The chance meeting couldn’t be more opportune for Marcos, who is in search of a new partner for 24 hours to help him with his deceptions, as his usual side-kick has gone awol.
Prompted by an old ailing associate of Marcos, and enlisting the unwilling assistance of Marcos’ estranged sister Valeria (Leticia Brédice), the two embark on a ruse to sell a sheet of forged stamps (the eponymous Nine Queens) to a Spanish collector with a less-than-clean sheet himself.
The narrative never settles for too long; as things go wrong and plans change, the audience is never quite sure who to believe at any moment. Allegiances switch from Marcos to Juan and back again according to where we feel our trust lies over the 24 hour period we spend with them. Marcos seems to be pulling Juan along with his crazy ideas, then Juan proves himself indispensable with his ability to charm grandmothers out of prized possessions with just a gentle smile.
It’s only in the very final scene that the audience discovers enough to piece together exactly what has transpired over the previous 24 hours, and it is a delight.
Rightly named as one of the top Argentine films of all time, Nine Queens deserves to step into the spotlight again, and this 4K re-release will hopefully introduce its delightful trickery and intricacies to a whole new audience. As well, or course, as reminding those revisiting just how good it is.
Nine Queens has a theatrical re-release on 11th July 2025, and the newly restored Blu-ray will be released on 11th August, with preorders available now.
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