The Conquest of Paradise

Pablo gets a summons from the father who abandoned him years ago, a man everyone assumed was dead. Expecting an immediate inheritance, Pablo flies to Brazil only to be handed a hand-drawn map and a promise that real wealth lies at the end of the trail. When his father dies soon after, Pablo accepts an odd fellowship his father arranged: several unlikely companions and one woman who becomes important to him. The film follows their trek toward the treasure, but it pays as much attention to shifting loyalties, unresolved family history, and the small transactions that change relationships along the way.

Released in 1981, The Conquest of Paradise was directed by Eliseo Subiela and features Arturo Puig as Pablo, with Kátia d'Angelo, Guillermo Battaglia, Alicia Bruzzo, and Jorge D'Elía in supporting roles. It came from the Argentine film scene of the early 1980s and was produced in Spanish with scenes set in Brazil, highlighting cross-border locales.

Critical response has been mixed, and the movie holds a modest 5.0/10 average from a very small number of votes. Viewers tend to praise the performances for their sincerity while pointing to uneven pacing and tonal shifts. The film is concerned with abandonment, inheritance, and what people value, with an undercurrent of chance and the ways personal myths shape decisions.

While it never reached mainstream international prominence, the movie has a quiet place among fans of South American cinema, appreciated for its offbeat tone and for Subiela's willingness to blend intimate drama with a quasi-adventure premise. Certain scenes, especially those set in rural or riverine landscapes, stick with viewers who remember the film, and it occasionally surfaces in retrospectives about Argentine directors of that era.

There are no records of major international awards or high-profile festival prizes for this title. It did not make a large commercial splash, but for some viewers the cast work and the film's oddball mix of melancholy and hope remain its chief attractions.