El bonaerense

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.

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.

This is a raw, passionate and brutally honest piece of film-making by a director destined (one would hope) to make more films of this quality.

Pablo Trapero, sharing his unique view of the world via the camera, not only gives us stunning and arresting imagery but draws remarkable performances from his cast, especially Jorge Roman as Zapa (frighteningly vacant at times) and Dario Levy as the charismatic but ultimately underhand Gallo.

One of the best films I've seen in a long time.

It has taken three years for Pablo Trapero to bring forward his second film, but it seems that time was not wasted. Much more refined and subtle than his first film ("Mundo Grúa" or crane world), he presents us the story of young, confused rural man who is forced to become a policeman after being involved in minor burglary. We witness his journey to Buenos Aires, his time as a trainee, his romance with an older teacher and his first encounters with the outlaws. The film does not aim at showing how the police force works but to tell the story of a man; we should not take the film as an intent to portray the corruption of policemen in Argentina or as criticism towards these men. I think the intention was to focus on Zapa´s story and take a look at policemen and at the social realities from his particular point of view. Performances are limited but correct, the images the movie produces are extraordinary and the "cumbia" music (a kind of salsa mixed with african percussion) generates a perfect ambience for the story told. I strongly recommend this film, perhaps one of the best argentine films of the last decade.

I decided to comment due to finding the previous comment exceedingly misleading. EL BONAERENSE is not a comedy and there's nothing "Jarmusch-like" about it. The protagonist is not a "small time hood" but a locksmith ordered by his boss to help a client open a safe. Presenting him as a "hood" would go against the major message of the film: how institutional corruption can poison and seduce an average guy, in this case a vulnerable man from the interior who moves to Buenos Aires, hence the title. The narrative structure is chronological and easy to follow (there's nothing "offbeat" about it). The scenes are rather brief with quick editing, rather than the long takes and laconic pace characteristic of Mr. Jarmusch. Where I disagree with the otherwise excellent comments from the Argentinian viewer is that I think EL BONAERENSE is an indictment of big-city police culture more than a character study. The film is more sociological than psychological, in my interpretation.