El bonaerense

This film was shown on cable recently. Unfortunately, most Aregentine "indie" films go unnoticed in this country because there is no market for something like this, even though it's better than most of the mediocrity one sees on a daily basis. Pablo Trapero's film is disturbing. Having seen his "Mundo Grua", we had to take a look at this new attempt of the director.

Mr. Trapero introduces us to Zapa, a young locksmith, living in the provinces. Zapa, is not a young man anymore, he is 32 and has no future. Zapa is the victim of an unscrupulous boss who sends him to a job that involves a robbery. An uncle is instrumental for getting him free when he speaks to a friend in the Buenos Aires' police department about a job. Zapa is accepted, but his initiation and training, contribute to his ultimate downfall; he is a victim of a system that is inept and corrupt. A great deal of the higher ups are on the take; in order to look the other way, those working in prostitution, or illegal activities, must pay for police protection.

It doesn't help that Zapa falls prey of a ruthless superior, Gallo, who makes him bend the same law they are sworn to uphold. Zapa falls in love with Mabel, one of the instructors, who is the only one that shows any compassion, and perhaps love, in the cold atmosphere of the big city, until she realizes her lover is working for the bad guys in the department.

The film offers good performances in general. Jorge Roman, as Zapa, makes us care for this man. Mr. Roman's casting is perfect because he brings to the role a roughness that with another actor would have been ruined. At the same time, this actor shows a vulnerability and candor in his interpretation of the yokel from the provinces. Mimi Ardu is good as Mabel, Zapa's love interest. Their intimate scenes are so sensual they make the viewer a 'voyeur' watching them. Finally, Dario Levy, as Gallo, the corrupt cop, makes a great appearance.

World cinema is littered with parables about big-city vice and corruption seen through the eyes of an innocent outsider who, whether through circumstances or choice, finds him- or herself enmeshed in a world he or she barely understands, yet feels morally obligated to correct. Though the outline of El bonaerense suggests another entry into this dependable, if well-worn, category—it features a reticent provincial (Jorge Román) who, after being scapegoated for a crime, has no other option but to follow his ex-cop uncle's advice who has him enlisted in the disreputable "Policía Bonaerense" in Greater Buenos Aires—its characterizations and internal narrative logic carry the film far beyond the conventional and expected.

Co-written and directed by Pablo Trapero, once a leading light of the so-called Argentine new wave alongside Lucrecia Martel, Martín Rejtman and Lisandro Alonso, the film is not only both grittier and more absurdly comic than most of Sidney Lumet's policiers that are set in and around New York City, it also boldly lacks a character who serves as a moral compass. But it similarly depicts the metropolis as a writhing, slithering organism, consuming everyone and everything in reach. And, likewise, the more intimately detailed the proceedings become, the more they allude to the inefficiency at the greater sociopolitical levels, the bedrocks of institutional dysfunction (and individual corruption).

Shot verité style with an often gorgeously grainy color palette, the film is marked by a pair of sweaty, explicit, almost violent sex scenes that, similar to such moments in Cronenberg's A History of Violence (2005), help illuminate both the underlying behavioral instincts of the protagonist (whose subjectivity remains opaque) and the dynamics of the relationship he shares with his significant other—in this case an older police instructor, one of many lively secondary characters. Offering no easy out for either its subject or the audience, El bonaerense presents a disarmingly disturbing vision of a society that has lost its soul.

This is one of those films that doesn't exactly have a strong storyline but is enjoyable enough. Some good acting performances help move the film along.

i was pleasantly surprised by this movie at a recent film festival screening. most of it is deadpan, jarmusch-like slice-of-life comedy, but moments of senseless violence pop up unexpectedly.

it's the story of a small-time hood who's sent by his well-connected uncle to join the buenos aires police, which is depicted as, pretty much, a small time crime family with uniforms.

the offbeat story is matched by the offbeat story-telling, which keeps you guessing every step of the way. the cinematography and music are also top notch, which contributes to the film's tangible, sweat-soaked atmosphere.

i'm not sure what it all adds up to, but an intelligent and well-made movie which never bores is no small feat.

A criminally inclined locksmith is caught on the job, so he is given two choices, jail or join the police force. His uncle is a high ranking police officer who can get him out of his predicament.

He's a bit too old and not the sharpest tool in the box, but he manages to pass basic training and is sent to a poor barrio in Buenos Aires where he manages to learn 'on the job' it is a story that comes full circle for him as it does for us.

Entertaining and full of grim, black humour. If you like your comedy heavy and dark then you will like this film.