THE REEL LESS TRAVELED

You can always get Argentine cuisine in Southern California, but a steady diet of Argentine cinema comes around these parts only once a year. The American Cinematheque’s Argentine New Cinema 2007 kicks off Friday night at the Egyptian Theatre with a diverse weekend-long program of films rich in that country’s distinct flavor.

Since reemerging as a cinematic hot spot a decade ago, Argentina has consistently produced films that are artful and accessible, by directors such as Lucrecia Martel, Daniel Burman and the late Fabian Bielinsky.

“XXY,” a sensitive drama about gender and sexual identity by Lucia Puenzo (whose father Luis directed “The Official Story”) and the country’s submission for the Academy Awards, opens the series. Adapted by the director from a short story by Sergio Bizzio, it stars Ines Efron in a mesmerizing performance as Alex, a 15-year-old hermaphrodite raised as a girl who must deal with the complex physical and emotional challenges of the condition, on top of the usual roiling hormones of puberty.

Alex’s parents have virtually hidden away the teen in a Uruguayan fishing village (one of Argentina’s most recognizable actors, Ricardo Darin, costars as Alex’s protective father). But when the secret emerges and Alex’s mother invites a Buenos Aires surgeon and family friend to visit, the situation escalates into tumultuous awakenings.

-- Kevin.Crust@latimes.com