The story takes place in 1969 and is told through the eyes of Valentín, an eight-year-old small, cross-eyed boy (Noya) whose thick black-rimmed glasses sit heavily on his face.

He no longer sees his Jewish mother, who was chased out of the family home by his imperious, dictator-like father (Agresti).

His anti-Semitic father only occasionally visits his mother and son, preferring to live the life of an Argentine playboy.

Valentín is friends with his uncle Chiche (Jean Pierre Noher) and the piano teacher Rufo who lives across the street (Mex Urtizberea).

His uncle takes him to mass where a priest (Fabián Vena) talks about the death of an Argentinian doctor who was killed recently.

Please, don't leave here before you've asked yourselves, in all sincerity: Who of you would give, not his whole life, but a year or even just one day, for an ideal, the way that Che gave all he had?".

Leticia (Julieta Cardinali), his father's latest romantic interest, pays a visit and both she and Valentin spend the day together going to the park, seeing a movie and sharing a meal.

He made the case that kids have an ability to deal with life's difficulties and have a natural inclination to overcome obstacles out of sheer love and necessity, and not out of pride and fear.

"[4] Critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of the website Spirituality & Practice liked the film and wrote, "Written and directed by Alejandro Agresti, this remarkable drama takes us right into the yearning heart of a very smart and lonely young boy...The hopeful finale gives Valentin an opportunity to play matchmaker, something he finds much to his liking.

"[5] The New York Times's Dave Kehr wrote, "[The film] has become all too familiar in the art houses: the cute child who awakens the cranky grown-ups around him to the infinite possibilities of life...[it] neglects few opportunities to pander to its public...[and] soon enough the bouncy pop score takes over again, and Valentín returns to its true business, tugging at well-worn heart strings.