SummaryJara is a shy and lonely 35-year-old security guard at a supermarket on the outskirts of Montevideo. He works the night shift, monitoring the surveillance cameras of the entire building. One night Jara discovers Julia, a 25-year-old cleaning woman, through one of the cameras and is immediately attracted to her. Night after night, he watches her o... Read More
Directed By:Adrián Biniez
Written By:Adrián Biniez
Giant
Metascore
Generally Favorable
64
User score
Overwhelming Dislike
1.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
64
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
88
Gigante represents the sort of artful low-budget accomplishment that could, and should, be coming out of distressingly stingy Chicago once a year — whatever the subject, whatever the sensibility.
75
Camandule gives a strong performance as the lovesick guard, but Svarcas gets little chance to show her skills. There's minimal dialogue and camera movement -- but lots of charm.
70
It's an interesting film but not enthralling, a little like Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble" minus the element of crime.
70
It is an appealing, gently comedic prologue to a love story.
60
The problem is that the film also refuses to move beyond a glacial pace, and its choice to go slow-and-low doesn’t scream art-house aesthetic so much as unintentionally sluggish. For such a small character study, that decision ends up being a doozy of a deal breaker.
50
With potentially lethargic materials, Biniez has made a quiet, intent, involving film, a moony-innocent urban alienation fairy tale of bashful ogre and village beauty--and it never quite crests.
40
Though it takes time to find its courage and heart, Gigante, like its oversized hero, merely has a slow, shy way of doing things.
User score
Overwhelming Dislike
1.8
25% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
75% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Mar 20, 2026
7
Gigante / Giant (2009) A Simple but Nice Romance (12,341 – 20 Mar 2026 – Claudio Carvalho) In Montevideo, the lonely and shy Jara (Horacio Camandule) lives with sister and his nephew, watches television, plays videogames with his nephew and loves heavy metal. He works as a security guard at a supermarket monitoring security cameras in the night shift, and as a bouncer in a night club every now and then. When he sees the janitor Julia (Leonor Svarcas) cleaning the alleys of the supermarket, he becomes obsessed by her. He stalks her through the cameras and follows her after hours in an Internet café, on the beach, in the movie theater but never talks to her. One night, he sees her with a man in a bar. “Gigante”, a.k.a. “Giant” (2009), is a simple but nice romance. The plot is very simple, showing the daily life of the big Jara at home until the day he falls for a co-worker cleaning lady. Shy, he does not speak to her but stalks her everywhere. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): “Gigante” (“Giant”) My Blog: ****/
Production Company:
- Ctrl Z Films
- Rizoma Films
- Pandora Filmproduktion
- Programa Ibermedia
- Montevideo Socio Audiovisual
- Hubert Bals Fund
- ICAU
- IDTV Film
- Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA)
- Montevideo Para Todos
- Primera Copia Festival NCL de La Habana
- ZDF/Arte
Release Date:Dec 4, 2009
Duration:1 h 24 m
Awards
Cartagena Film Festival
• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations
Berlin International Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 4 Nominations
Gramado Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
