Tiempo de Pagar

Without a doubt, the best Argentine film of the year. With a frenetic pace and a vibrant staging, it perfectly captures the essence of Buenos Aires: a beautiful yet chaotic city, full of unique characters.

The film has shades of After Hours by Scorsese and Uncut Gems by the Safdie brothers, with which it engages in a dialogue-two references that inevitably come to mind as we follow the protagonist's journey. Not because it imitates them, but because it shares that same sense of vertigo and adrenaline, where everything can collapse in a matter of seconds. And I'm grateful that it led me to think of those two masterpieces.

The protagonist, Richard, is an outstanding character. A hustler, a streetwise survivor, politically incorrect, a womanizer-but with an overwhelming charisma that makes you, deep down, want him to succeed. His magnetism is key to the film's effectiveness, and it works flawlessly.

Another strong point is its length. The film is short, but that works in its favor. There's no room for distractions or unnecessary subplots-everything moves forward with the same urgency as the main character, pulling the audience into his spiral of desperate decisions.