Intense Family Drama Unfolds in Short Film "The Birthday Gift"

It’s rare that I’m as thoroughly surprised by a movie as I was by The Birthday Gift, a short film directed by Arianna Ortiz. In just 15 minutes, I came to know the characters well enough to genuinely feel for them and gasp at each twist. The film, which focuses on an Argentinian family during an intimate birthday dinner, efficiently captures the eccentricities of each character as well as the nuances of their interpersonal dynamics. 

Soledad (Paula Pizzi) is visiting her daughter Gabriela (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) and her son-in-law Marty (Nate Santana) in Chicago. Soledad lives in Argentina with her husband, but has clearly been staying with the couple and their young child for an extended period of time. She is grating in the way mother-in-laws often are, asserting her own desires and expecting the grown children to adapt to her whims. 

On this particular night, her self-absorption is justified. It’s her birthday, and to celebrate she invited two new friends over for dinner. The friends are a man named César (Ignacio Serricchio) and an older woman named Carolina (Adelina Feldman-Schultz), two people who claim to be fans of Gabriela’s work as a cellist.

From the start, there’s an odd connection between Carolina and Gabriela. The woman faints at the site of the girl and the camera focuses on their eyes as they lock and she comes to. It’s clear there’s a secret there. This tension carries forward throughout the night and into dinner, where eventually the truth is revealed.

All of the characters in the film are Argentinian, except for (potentially) Marty, who is Hispanic but not fluent in Spanish the way the others are. The family switches rapidly between English and Spanish, sometimes in the middle of sentences or just for single words. It feels authentic to the bilingual experience to see people alternating between translating and using their native language. It’s the way my bilingual friends and family members speak amongst themselves, and it’s nice to see that represented on screen.

I am fairly ignorant when it comes to Argentinian politics. One of the central topics of the dinner party is the fallout from Argentina’s military dictatorship, which took place between 1976-1983. It took me watching the film, then doing some research, and then re-watching it to truly understand what had happened. It opened my eyes to some of the truly heinous war crimes that were committed against political dissidents in the country. It’s important to know history so that we can better advocate against the injustices happening today, and I’m grateful for The Birthday Gift for pushing me to learn. While it’s not essential to know anything about Argentina to enjoy the movie—enough context is given that I understood the basics—historical knowledge will certainly enhance your experience.

The Birthday Gift is a beautifully shot movie that takes place entirely inside of one apartment on a single night. I have a soft spot for films that highlight the complexities of familial relationships, and this film certainly did that. It’s possible to love someone deeply and find yourself frustrated with the way they handle themselves. It’s possible to think you know someone and not know anything at all. The warm tones and beautiful music create a sense of comfort even as everyone is slightly on edge. 

The film does not stand alone. It is based on a play by Stephanie Allison Walker, titled The Abuelas. I didn’t have the privilege of seeing it in Chicago when it debuted in 2019, but if it ever runs again I will certainly be there to find out more about the lives of these five people I’ve already come to know well. In lieu of that, I’ll be on the lookout for more work by The Birthday Gift’s writers and director in the future.