Hallmark Channel
For Hallmark’s third ‘Winter Escape’ movie for January, the network decided to take advantage of Argentina where the second film, Polar Opposites, was filmed even though it was set in Antarctica. Instead of Patagonia, the location for My Argentine Heart is Buenos Aires and surrounding locations, all breathtakingly beautiful and a nice respite from those of us dealing with frigid temperatures and snow.
My Argentine Heart stars Julie Gonzalo as Abril, a native of the country who moved to Boston after the end of a romance, becoming a top financial planner for multi-million and billion dollar businesses. Abril has not had a solid job in about a year since the last company she worked for basically imploded because of allegedly bad financial planning on her part. Learning that her family ranch in Argentina now being overseen by her cousin Belinda is about to go on the market because it’s too much for Belinda to take care of herself and she want to sell to use the money to open a restaurant in the heart of Buenos Aires, Abril makes the trip home to put her financial planning skills to good use — and hopefully bolster her resumé in the process — to calculate what it will take to fulfill Belinda’s dream. On the plus side, there is already an interested party who has made a very good offer to buy the ranch to preserve it and expand it for tourists to experience the true life of a gaucho. The down side is the potential buyer is Abril’s ex Diego (Juan Pablo Di Pace), who has returned from his own life in the States to help his father oversee the ranch’s operations and preserve the gaucho lifestyle. Whereas Abril was happy to help Belinda get as much as possible from the sale, now she is doing all she can to keep the ranch in the family while still working the numbers for Belinda’s restaurant. Abril even offers to form a partnership with Diego so he can carry out his plans, but the one thing he doesn’t want is a boss, especially if it’s Abril (these two have a lot of issues to work through).
Abril manages to crunch the numbers enough that she can make a sale work, and she knowns someone who may want to invest so the ranch can stay with the family … which means Diego will go elsewhere to fulfill his dream. There’s just one hitch — an old loan that Belinda was told not to worry about because it had been bought by so many different banks that it seems to have just gone away. Abril knows that loans don’t just go away, and her potential investor finds the loan within his own bank’s records, giving him the upper hand to low-ball the family with an offer that covers the loan and gives the bank possession of the ranch. This forces Abril to work with Diego, and family friend Antonio (a lawyer), to try and come up with the money to pay off the loan before the deadline, or else they lose everything and Abril returns to Boston. It’s not looking good for the ranch or the relationship between Abril and Diego as the clock ticks.
Hallmark Channel
My Argentine Heart is more family drama than romance, as the two lead characters try to navigate their way through the financials of the ranch while also trying to resolve their relationship, which ended because Abril abruptly left for America. However, we later learn that it was Diego who left first, with him telling her he left first because he knew she was going to leave. Abril finally admits she would have stayed if he had, but now she has a life (and a new job courtesy of a former co-worker who knew she was scapegoated) to return to in Boston so even if they can save the ranch she’s still going to return … or is she? As the two old flames rekindle their feelings for each other while they ride the rollercoaster that is the fate of the ranch, everyone is left waiting until the last minute to learn if affairs of the heart can truly take precedence over a career and financial stability. Luckily, the movie is lead by two Argentine natives in Gonzalo and Di Pace, which makes their characters feel all the more authentic (and Abril does make it clear she’s only half Argentinian but her roots are there). They both have deep connections to the land, both the actors and the characters, and that love of their homeland comes through the screen loud and clear. Di Pace in particular never sounds like he’s just reciting dialog that someone wrote for him, he makes us believe Diego is a real gaucho determined to preserve his culture. Gonzalo also gives some real emotion when there is a chance they could lose the ranch, making the audience believe that this ranch is truly where she belongs, even if Abril herself can’t quite see it as her emotions are colored by the thorny relationship with Diego. Both actors give superb performances and make the film all the more enjoyable and romantic.
The cast is also populated with local Argentine actors including Valentina Frione as Belinda, Eliseo Barrionuevo as Antonio and Iván Espeche as Diego’s father Andres, all giving very natural performances and making the viewer feel like they all do have true familial and friendship connections. We also get invested in the relationship between friends Belinda and Antonio, who also may or may not share a romantic spark that could flare up at any moment.
The ranch setting and surrounding countryside are gorgeous, with director Terry Ingram showing off the beautiful locations culminating in a fantastic shot of Iguazu Falls to close out the movie. The city of Buenos Aires is also featured, and the movie serves as almost a travelogue for tourists who may now want to consider a visit. Joie Botkin, who also wrote the delightful ‘Tis the Season to Be Irish, knows how to let a romance simmer without making the protagonists feel like they are rushing into something. She gives Abril & Diego and Belinda & Antonio a history, the characters have their backstories, so we as viewers looking from the outside in can feel like these are real people with real feelings. Even the financial drama feels real and we also become invested in them all finding a way to save the ranch from what would basically be a hostile takeover. Everyone, from cast to crew, works hard to make everything seem effortless and natural, immersing the audience in the lives of the characters, in the stunning locations, making us feel all the ups and downs, the warmth and love that we see on the screen. In the end, My Argentine Heart truly is a nice winter escape.
My Argentine Heart has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is streaming on Hallmark+.
Preview – My Argentine Heart
Hallmark Channel