El ciudadano ilustre

The Distinguished Citizen has one of the best scripts I've seen in a long time, manages to uniquely balance comedy and drama (with both genres building off each other here, the humor coming from the plot and a well-written protagonist, while the drama often comes from when he ends up being the victim of the humor), has a great eye for various character, setting, and spatial details, is generally applicable to multiple contexts, and still shows off its subversiveness at the end. The full five stars would be totally deserved, if only... if only the film weren't so formally repugnant. The uninspired, ill-timed editing, the horrible lighting, the hideous look of a TV camera, in short, the visual punishment on such a level that it reeks of creative intention, which is one of the film's themes, trying so hard to slip the knots of its subject matter, i.e., depositing itself into the sarcophagus of academic acceptability. And yet it doesn’t do it consistently, as it makes haphazard use of formal shortcuts, afterthoughts, and music. It's a terrible shame, because otherwise I haven't come across anything more entertaining and apt in a long time. (26.10.2017)

If the movie didn’t look so average, it wouldn’t be so bad. The average filmmaking here clashes with human absurdity not unlike from Bohumil Hrabal’s books. The difference is that the real fun begins only after approximately one hour of the movie, when you’re already dying with boredom. Then you find out that the Argentinians can be also entertaining. In any case I acknowledge that the character of the academician Daniel, who won the Nobel Prize and is suffering from a total depression from human emptiness, was written very well. The clash of a writer and their fan can sometimes lead to big trouble… (23.12.2018)

It is not easy coming to terms with your past and where you belong, reconnecting with the place where you grew up but from where you fled, even if you are a world-famous and acclaimed author. It's even harder because you're having your own personal crisis. Still, it is quite funny at times and it is even possible to come to a conclusion that might not be all that funny. (12.02.2018)

The Distinguished Citizen is a valuable, albeit somewhat cynical and malicious contribution to the discussion on the role of intellectuals in today's society. I cannot recommend it to casual viewers. It will likely be appreciated by those who have already experienced some things in life and are not trapped in their social bubbles. It is not an impressive and showy film, but it is cleverly constructed and reliably takes you where it wants you to go. It never bores, and it occasionally stings or slaps you cruelly, and constantly gives you a conspiratorial wink, asking if you understand how life works. The direction is not dazzling, as the strength of the film does not lie therein, but the script did enchant me, as did the characters and the questions the film raises. For Oscar Martinez's focused performance and especially for the opening speech, through which his protagonist shocked the social elite while accepting the Nobel Prize in Literature, I am giving it five stars. Even Ricky Gervais doesn't have the balls for such a knockout, and God knows what I would give to see the shocked faces of establishment figures in a live broadcast. Overall impression: 90%. (07.02.2020)