The opening credits of acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Trapero (‘Lion’s Den’) latest movie contain the disturbing fact that some 8000 people die in car accidents in Argentina each year. It’s created a whole industry devoted to scamming victims out of insurance money which is the basis of this gripping bloody socio-drama thriller that makes for a very queasy view.
Sosa is a lawyer who’s lost his license and to make ends meet has become an ambulance chaser who splits his time between staging fake accidents and bullying traumatized victims and their families to get power of attorney for ‘The Foundation’ who employ him so that they can rake off most of the payout. He’s getting really fed up with doing this when his path crosses with an emergency female Doctor, and despite her disdain for Sosa’s work, they hook up.
The only exit that Sosa can see out of his crummy job is to use all the dirt he has accrued on his devious bosses activities, and maybe also start to honestly help some victims. There is too much at stake for him to walk away so lightly and it all gets very violent and too bloody for words.
Theirs is a bleak dreary grimy and depressing world and this adds to the unrelenting tension, and to the movie’s violent ending which I guess wasn’t totally unexpected, but is still caught me unawares and shocked me out of my seat.
The movie is lifted by sterling performances from the two lead actors. Martina Gusman, the director’s wife and a regular in his films, played the dour doctor with her own problems. Sosa was played by Ricardo Darin, who I have read is considered to be Argentina’s George Clooney! I’m not sure about that, but you may remember him for his award winning turn in the superb ‘The Secret In Their Eyes‘.
Well worth watching, and a reminder to us all to never ever consider driving in Buenos Aires. Or Argentina generally!
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