The Bitter Stems
- IMDb link: 0143920
- IMDb rating: 7.6 (1,057 votes)
- Genres: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
- Director: Fernando Ayala
- Cast: Carlos Cores, Vassili Lambrinos, Julia Sandoval, Gilda Lousek and others
- Release date: 19 Jun 2024
- Release year: 1956
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Country: Argentina
- Keywords: inferiority complex, male male relationship, male female relationship, father son relationship, mother son relationship, mother daughter relationship, brother sister relationship, romantic rivalry, buenos aires argentina, mimeograph machine
Plot:
Alfredo Gaspar (Carlos Cores) is an unhappy reporter who teams with an immigrant bartender, Liudas (Vassili Lambrinos), in a get rich quick scheme; they advertise a correspondence course in journalism, and the money pours in. Other than being a crook, Liudas is a nice guy hoping to bring his wife and two children from Europe to Argentina. Gaspar is so moved by the family's plight that he offers Liudas a bigger share of the ill-gotten gains to help them. Eventually, though, Gaspar comes to suspect that Liudas hasn't told him the truth; perhaps someone who's, after all, a crook would also lie to him. Gaspar decides to exact revenge on his "business" partner and commits "the perfect crime"...or so he thinks. But nothing goes quite as planned.