Fate

Argentine novelist Consiglio (Southerly) offers a moving testament to the beauty and banality of human relationships. In an opening note, Consiglio muses on the mystery of whether events are determined by fate or chance, and cites the film The Third Man as inspiration for the atmospheric tone. Consiglio’s four protagonists crisscross modern-day Buenos Aires: Marina Kezelman, a meteorologist embarking on an affair, drinks coffee and consults an I Ching app; later, her husband, Karl, goes to the park with their son, where he narrowly avoids collision with a frisbee. Meanwhile, Amer, an aging taxidermist, endeavors to nourish his budding romance with the noncommittal Clara. Amer prepares guacamole after work; Karl eats two chocolate bars while shopping for his wife’s birthday present; Marina Kezelman orders an oat muffin in the airport. These ordinary actions move Consiglio’s characters along and enact consequences of ambiguous provenance and irresistible force. Throughout, the power of the quotidian is harnessed by the prose (“Everything fastened together in a joyful line. Something unstoppable: a chain of wise choices and well-being”). This subtle, swiftly executed accomplishment lures with its aura of classic art house cinema. (May)