Rest in Peace

Descansar en Paz (directed by Sebastián Borensztein) is a slow-burn mystery melodrama that keeps you intrigued in its first half, but unfortunately loses its emotional impact as the story progresses.

The film follows Sergio Dayan (played by Joaquín Furriel), a businessman on the brink of collapse. His inherited factory is in financial ruin, leaving him unable to pay his bills or employees. With mounting pressure from a dangerous loan shark demanding immediate repayment, Sergio's life is spiraling out of control.

Things take a sharp turn when, while buying a necklace for his beloved daughter, Sergio is caught in the aftermath of a deadly bombing at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) - a hate crime that shakes the nation. In a desperate bid to escape his creditors and start fresh, Sergio fakes his death and flees to Paraguay, adopting a new identity. There, he secures a job at an import-export company, leaving his family behind but ensuring their financial stability through a life insurance policy.

While the setup is strong, with suspense building steadily in the first half, the film falters in its latter half. The emotional stakes diminish as the narrative unfolds, and by the time the conclusion arrives, it feels anticlimactic and even incoherent. What could have been a poignant exploration of guilt, survival, and the human condition ends in a forced and ridiculous final twist.

Ultimately, Descansar en Paz presents a promising beginning but stumbles when it comes to delivering a satisfying, emotionally resonant conclusion. It's a film that begins with tension but ends with a whimper.

Lets start with the good parts... Okay! I'm finished!

Now the bad parts : the movie has no sense at all! There is no reason watching it. The idea of the story is not bad but the execution in my opinion is terrible... You wait the whole movie for something to happen and during the last scene you wish it's not gonna be the last scene... and yet IT IS! The only hope that you have that this movie will give you something is gone right there on the spot, together with the endind titles. Nothing intresting at all.

I honestly feel bad for the time i spent watching this... Poor poor poor... Don't waste your time :)

They did not do a good job of convincing us that the married couple was close. We see very little of their relationship before the big stuff happens. I don't think they told us what product the family company made. Why make them Jewish? They didn't sell the Jewish angle. I didn't believe it.

There is a large passage of time during which we see very little of what happens in people's lives. Was the grey beard meant as a disguise because the guy was planning to resurface, or just to show the passage of time? Couldn't he have trimmed it to look less homeless? As people mentioned, the women didn't look older.

I did feel the emotions of the main characters. That much was good. I was actually ok with the ending too. I know a lot of people hated it.

The kind of guy who let himself get into such debt, kept it from his family, and made the other decisions he made, would probably not know what to feel or do when facing the consequences of his actions. He waffled, caused more pain, and failed again.

This clever thriller really got me in and kept me guessing. It's the story of a devoted family man who takes the desperate measure to disappear in order to protect his wife and children from a ruthless loan shark. Much of the interest from that point in the movie comes from the brilliant acting by Joaquin Furriel who conveys the heartbreak of losing his family entirely through his demeanour and facial expressions. It's a sacrifice that I think few people would make. His new life, and that of his family unfold in very believable and poignant ways, but as you watch them there is a constant sense that the new arrangement can't last. The final part of the movie is gripping and ultimately surprised me. I thought that the ending was perfect, and like all really satisfying endings it was thought provoking, leaving me wondering how things would pan out from that point.

Taking advantage of the historical fact of the attack on AMIA (July 1994), the plot becomes a parade of unlikely things, something that no one would believe. Furthermore, there is an annoying stereotype in the main character's children that bothered me a lot. Do not waste your time. Completely unbelievable plot and unconvincing performances. In short, a rare mediocre Argentine film where the Jewish community is characterized as materialistic and enjoys showing off. And to make things worse, a friendly dog appears whose fate will remain unknown. The passage of time inhabits the things little explained in the film.