After refusing big and prestigious prizes all around the world, Mr. Mantovani (Oscar Martinez) , a Literature Nobel Prize winner , accepts an invitation to visit his hometown in Argentina, which has previously been the inspiration for all of his novels . It results that accepting this invitation becomes into the worse idea of his life , that's why in the Argentinean country he discovers the surprising reality surpasses fiction. As in Argentina he finds both similarities and irreconcilable differences with the citizens of his hometown . The disillusioned writer finds himself entangled into discorcenting experiences , because of no one is a prophet in their own land. The film of the Argentine Nobel Prize in Literature ! . Expect the unexpected when you have used real people as characters in your novels ! . Nobody is a prophet in his own land - not even a Nobel Prize ! . Small town... Big hell !

A nice and interesting drama/comedy , an attractive Dramedy about a bittered writer who returns to his country resulting in fateful consequences , it was No. 1 at the box office Argentine comedy of the year . This is a nice movie containg drama , humorous elements and dealing with brooding and thoughtful issues . Here stands out the terrific acting by this great Argentinean actor Oscar Martinez playing perfectly a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature who has been living in Europe for decades , accepting an invitation to receive another award at his natal country. Oscar Martinez is considered to be the most famous Argentine actor with Ricardo Darin, Rodolfo Ranni and Dario Grandinetti. He is a prestigious player , known for El nido vacío (2008) , Relatos salvajes (2014),Paulina (2015) , Inseparables (2016) , Toc Toc (2017) , Vivir dos veces (2019) , Tu me manques (2019) and this El ciudadano ilustre (2016) . He has been married to actresses as Marina Borensztein and he was previously married to Mercedes Morán. Oscar Martinez is nicely accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Dady Brieva , Andrea Frigerio , Nora Navas , Manuel Vicente , Marcelo D'Andrea , Belén Chavanne , Gustavo Garzón , among others.

The motion picture was well directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn , they formerly made some decent films . As they have directed a dozen movies , with which they obtained more than thirty international awards, among which stand out The Artist (2008) , The Man Next Door (2009),The Distinguished Citizen (2016),My Masterpiece (2018) and Official Competition (2020). And this El ciudadano ilustre (2016) got submission of Argentina for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. The picture won several prizes and nominations , such as : Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina 2016 Winner Award of the Argentinean Academy Best Actor Oscar Martínez , Best Supporting Actor Dady Brieva , Best Screenplay - Original Andrés Duprat . Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards 2017 Winner Silver Condor Best Actor Oscar Martínez Nominee Silver Condor , Best Film , Best Director Mariano Cohn , Gastón Duprat. Ariel Awards, Mexico 2017 Winner Silver Ariel Best Latin-American Film: Gastón Duprat , Mariano Cohn. Días de Cine Awards 2017 Winner Días de Cine Award Best Foreign Actor Oscar Martínez. Goya Awards 2017 Winner Goya Best Iberoamerican Film. Faro Island Film Festival 2016 Winner Golden Moon Award Best Actor Oscar Martínez. Havana Film Festival 2016 Winner Best Screenplay Andrés Duprat , Mariano Cohn . José María Forqué Awards 2017 Winner Best Latin American Picture .Latin Beat Film Festival 2016 Winner Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar Martínez . Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival 2017 Winner Jury Prize Best Film Mariano Cohn Gastón Duprat and several others.

"El ciudadano ilustre" or "The Distinguished Citizen" is an Argentinean 2-hour film from 2016 that was the country's official submission to the Oscars last year, but did not manage the same successes like other entries from the South American country recently as it did not even make the short list of 9. However, it's all good because the movie managed a great deal of recognition at all kinds of other award shows. It is at this point probably the career-defining work for directors Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn and it seems Duprat's brother Andrés was in charge of the script here. This is a film not based on real events, the story of a Nobel Peace Prize winner for Literature and right early on in his acceptance speech we see that he is a complicated character indeed as what he talks about, the simple man's worries that his works may no longer be about as proved through this prestigious award, eventually satisfies the upper class again. What follows afterward is a return for him to his roots and exactly to these simple men's worries.

The main character is definitely not a saint as we find out on many occasions, even if many of the conflicts are not really because of him. The best example is his main antagonist as he cannot accept the writer's artistic integrity that he picked another painting. Still, even that one makes a point asking why the protagonist did not even return for his dad's funeral. This is not a film about returning home and finding one's true roots. It is actually the opposite as it is about returning home and finding that all roots are gone basically and that the people there, partially because of envy, do not like you anymore, even if they try their best at not showing their disapproval for the most part. The film starts relatively light, but becomes darker and darker the longer it goes in showing us how he does not fit in there anymore. References about violence and death are the logical consequence. I think this was a really good character study with many interesting moments and I also liked that it was not all bad at the end, for example he helped a young writing prospect and maybe he saw himself in him too when he was younger obviously. The film delivers from both comedy and drama perspective I think. The only major thing I did not like was in the end that the daughter's ex-boyfriend pulled the trigger. I was missing a bit of a connection there. Sure he was a brute and may be angry and sad that she left him if she really did, but it felt slightly unrealistic to me. Maybe the guy who invited him to dinner would have been the better choice. But then again I like the idea that it was one of his closest that fired the shot, even if the filmmakers eventually weren't brave enough to really kill him off. Eventually, we see him again in the world where he belongs to. As a whole a film that was fun to watch from start to finish and filmmakers can learn a lot from it I'm sure. It's witty, deep and relevant and on a subjective side-note it has the stunning Belén Chavanne in it, a Gaucho mix of Emma Stone and Tracy Spiridakos. Minor flaws keep me from giving this one an even higher rating. But I still definitely very much recommend seeing this one. It really took way too long to finally reach Germany. But the wait was worth it and I give it a comfortable thumbs-up.

Thomas Wolfe once wrote that we can never go home again. He meant that we could not go back to a time when home was the same as it is in our memories. Homes change, cities change, people change; everything changes. That is the theme of the wonderful Argentinian film " The Distinguished Citizen". It is a well-written, well-directed, and well-acted film about trying to go home again, and the ultimate impossibility of accomplishing a goal that meets our memories. I generally do not like films about writers; and I particularly loathe films about writers with "writer's block" because there is no such thing. A writer writes, all the time, and never has enough time to write about all the things he or she wants to write about. I am a writer. I have several books on Amazon. I could never stop writing. A real writer never stops writing for any reason. But this film does not really center on writer's block; it is about trying to recapture one's past. And of course, the protagonist is doomed in his quest. The film goes on to show us why. If you are a successful writer, people will be jealous and try to discredit you. If you are an unsuccessful writer, people will encourage you and give you more credit than you deserve. Writing is too important to be left to the uninspired. The acting is first rate and I recommend this film highly.