Hoy Y Mañana: A Spanish Drama
Paula and her cat.
Young Paula, a twenty something living in Argentina, is an aspiring actress and a waitress in a restraunt. She lives in an apartment with her cat and a porch full of cactus's. Paula's life seems to be crashing right in front of her. She's low on money, her apartment is rotting in the hot Argentine sun, and she's got no hope left.
When Paula's landlord begins to bug her about money, banging on her door, everyday, asking for his $300 of rent money she owes. Paula tries an ATM, and gets no money. She begs her rich father for money, but he refuses because he's lent it so many times before. She begs her best friend, but she refuses. Paula realizes that the situation is desperate when she begins stealing cat food and Fritos from the local grocery store. Paula turns to a friend who is a prostitute and asks her to teach her how to use tricks for cash.
Nothing goes well. Paula gets cheaped out of of money after giving back alley blow jobs and not-so-good sex. The only kind person she seems to meet is a rich executive named Raul. Raul is attracted to Paula. He doesn't just want her as a prostitute. Raul invites her to his apartment twice. The second time around, Paula has the three hundred dollars in her hands. Raul tells Paula to stay the night the second time around, but sneaks out when he falls asleep. When Paula tries to escape his apartment after a night of sex, money, and alcohol, he grabs her in the knick of time and takes back half of his money, leaving Paula short a hundred dollars.
Paula, depressed about having her money taken back, decides to go to a club, where she meets an old friend at the bar. She takes him back to apartment and has sex with him. We don't see him anymore in the movie. Paula goes out the next night, only to be raped in a hotel. Around 4 a.m. we see a teary eyed Paula, dressed in a mini skirt, heels, and risque top bolting out of a taxi and leaning over the edge of a pier. The movie ends with Paula staring off in the sunrise.
The film is supposed to represent the turmoil in Argentina after recent governmental decisions that left Argentina's people poor. The movie is filmed like an indie documentary, shaky camera and all. The movie is all in Spanish, but there were English subtitles when I viewed it on HBO around 2:30 a.m.
The movie is rated R for scenes of rape, abuse/violence, and sexual content.
