-thumb-80x80-31030.jpg)
Though Argentina is certainly no stranger to the crime-thriller the nation - at least on the outer face of things - tends to take a certain approach to the material. It tends to be a little bit arthouse, a little bit slow, impeccably composed but perhaps a little bit distant. For an example, see this year's Oscar nominee The Secret Behind Their Eyes.
Well here, then, is writer-director Eduardo Pinto with something completely different.
Well here, then, is writer-director Eduardo Pinto with something completely different.
Raw stuff, this, almost verite style and bursting with energy. Very nice indeed.This is the story of Panceta, a young laborer from one of the poorer suburbs in Greater Buenos Aires. He lives with his mother, a widow, who greatly misses her husband, as does Panceta his father. Panceta's life is focused on his work: he's taken over his fathers forge, as well as working at a pipe factory. But his ambitions to make money have made him turn to manufacturing home-made guns and selling them in the outlying districts. Inexperienced and unaware of the danger, he is challenged by the local mafia.
One night when delivering his guns he meets Clara, a young girl working at the local community hall. They fall in love and decide to run away, going off in a freeing boat trip along the river. A man in love becomes an easy prey for his enemies, especially for Tacom, a powerful local mafia boss.
What had begun as a game turns grey and ever darker - the consequences are tragic and tormenting.
Leave a comment