A big chill descends upon a group of middle-class Argentineans in this fluid, improvised tale of friendship, marriage, and betrayal along the banks of the Parana River. Pablo is a sports journalist and sometime professor with illusions of being a “real” writer; his thirty-eighth birthday party brings together his friends, family, and lovers past and present to unveil further illusions, and harsher realities. Most of the guests haven't seen one another for years, but the passage of time-and the presence of Pablo's attractive young student videotaping the event-won't stop them from reverting back to the same games of insincere flattery, vague condescension, and sexual conquest they played when much younger. Director Postiglione weaves together this collection of conversations with remarkable ease, using various digital video–enhanced tricks like films-within-films, split screens, and switching image sizes to create “a portrait of a generation of middle-class Argentineans who have drifted into disillusionment and bitterness” (Variety).