After watching "Carancho" one feels afraid of being hit by a car, or a bus, in Buenos Aires, where traffic accidents are common. According to a statistic shown as the film credits unroll, some eight thousand victims of these mishaps die every year. In a way it is unfair to single out the capital of Argentina, but since this story happens to be based there, it our only reference point, as explained by Pablo Trapero with a warning before presenting the story.
Sosa, a lawyer who has lost his license, is now working with an firm that specializes in litigation of victims. After the insurance companies pay the indemnization, the unscrupulous lawyers that tried the case give the actual victims only a small portion of what was due to them, pocketing the rest of the money. Sosa's boss, Casal, employs Sosa, who is desperate to get back on his feet, although he has all the intentions to cheat Sosa of what is due to him. Casal operates with the corrupt police chief, who is into the scam himself big time. There is an awful lot of money to be made out of the illegal activity.
During his night rounds, Sosa meets a young doctor, Lujan, assigned to an ambulance. It becomes clear Sosa likes the young woman from the start. Lujan, in turn, has a dark secret of her own, something which she is not too proud of. It does not take Lujan a long time to realize what Sosa is doing. In spite of her realization, she is helpless to do anything when the people that want Sosa's activities get to her, threatening to harm her. As Sosa is putting his own scheme to elude his tormentors he becomes another victim of a traffic accident.
Pablo Trapero directed this dark film in which corruption is exposed in a sector of society that is vulnerable because the horrible way people drive and the vultures that prey on the victims themselves. Mr. Trapero also contributed to the script. We had admired two of his previous films, "El Bonaerense" and "Leonera". He is a man that is interested in the small guy lost in a society that has little use for him. His stories are almost always set far from glamorous settings and devoid of elegance.
Working with Ricardo Darin, right after his success with "The Secret in Their Eyes", must have been quite a challenge for both, the star and the director. Mr. Darin, whose style is more cerebral, here must endure some beatings as well as being asked for more physical action. Martina Gusman plays Lujan the ambulance doctor that ends up falling for an unlikely kind of man.
Technically, "Carancho" has some incredible special effects that keeps the viewer thinking how real they appear. All the action is captured by Julian Apezteguia, the cinematographer who works with the dark colors of an action that takes place almost always at night.
Sosa, a lawyer who has lost his license, is now working with an firm that specializes in litigation of victims. After the insurance companies pay the indemnization, the unscrupulous lawyers that tried the case give the actual victims only a small portion of what was due to them, pocketing the rest of the money. Sosa's boss, Casal, employs Sosa, who is desperate to get back on his feet, although he has all the intentions to cheat Sosa of what is due to him. Casal operates with the corrupt police chief, who is into the scam himself big time. There is an awful lot of money to be made out of the illegal activity.
During his night rounds, Sosa meets a young doctor, Lujan, assigned to an ambulance. It becomes clear Sosa likes the young woman from the start. Lujan, in turn, has a dark secret of her own, something which she is not too proud of. It does not take Lujan a long time to realize what Sosa is doing. In spite of her realization, she is helpless to do anything when the people that want Sosa's activities get to her, threatening to harm her. As Sosa is putting his own scheme to elude his tormentors he becomes another victim of a traffic accident.
Pablo Trapero directed this dark film in which corruption is exposed in a sector of society that is vulnerable because the horrible way people drive and the vultures that prey on the victims themselves. Mr. Trapero also contributed to the script. We had admired two of his previous films, "El Bonaerense" and "Leonera". He is a man that is interested in the small guy lost in a society that has little use for him. His stories are almost always set far from glamorous settings and devoid of elegance.
Working with Ricardo Darin, right after his success with "The Secret in Their Eyes", must have been quite a challenge for both, the star and the director. Mr. Darin, whose style is more cerebral, here must endure some beatings as well as being asked for more physical action. Martina Gusman plays Lujan the ambulance doctor that ends up falling for an unlikely kind of man.
Technically, "Carancho" has some incredible special effects that keeps the viewer thinking how real they appear. All the action is captured by Julian Apezteguia, the cinematographer who works with the dark colors of an action that takes place almost always at night.