Patagonia

Director Marc Evans ("Snow Cake") gives us two separate stories. The first is about residents of Chubut, a Welsh territory in southern Argentina that was founded in the 1860s by colonists who left Wales for greener pastures; they settled in Patagonia with the assistance of the Argentine government. A very elderly woman enlists the aid of a teenage neighbor to help her travel to Buenos Aires for treatment on her eyes. To his surprise, her plan is to slip off to Wales and seek the old family farm. All she has is a faded photograph and stunned teenage boy to help her.

The second story begins in Wales, where a photographer has landed a contract to travel to Chubut and photograph the many chapels that are scattered amid the panoramic landscapes. To his delight, his girlfriend asks if she might come along. The driver hired for their trek is a farmer from the area, so the three of them speak Welsh and Spanish (with captions when necessary). Welsh actor Matthew Rhys ("Brothers & Sisters") is the driver. The photographer sees an attraction begin to grow between his girlfriend and their driver.

These two stories never intersect, although they are edited so we switch back and forth. The teenager and the elderly woman suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune as they travel to rural Wales, while the driver makes things much easier for our threesome in Patagonia. It was interesting to note that those three characters in the romantic triangle become more and more attractive as the movie goes on, particularly the driver. Some of us gals in line for the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival press screening were in total agreement about HIM!

Director Marc Evans can do more with a glance than most directors can do with complete nudity and sweaty bodies. Whew!