The Future Perfect

A young Chinese immigrant to Argentina embraces the struggle of a new language and surroundings in this Best First Feature prize-winner at Locarno.

"Xiaobin is 17 years old and does not speak a single word of Spanish when she arrives in Argentina. But a few days later, she already has a new name, Beatriz, and a job in a Chinese supermarket. Her family lives in a parallel world in a launderette, far removed from the Argentinians. Xiaobin secretly saves money and enrols at a language school. She tries out in the street what she learns there. After having learned how to “make appointments”, she arranges to meet a supermarket customer, Vijay. He comes from India, and although they can barely communicate with each other, they start a secret relationship. And when she practises the condicional, the form of possibility, Xiaobin starts thinking about the future. What would happen if her parents learned about Vijay? The more she masters the Spanish language, the more she interferes in the scenario. Her Chinese classmates comment on the events like a chorus." (Locarno Film Festival)

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