Do Outro Lado da Lei

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.

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 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.

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.

Mendoza (Zapa) is a simple locksmith's assistant who does a job for his boss by helping a couple of guys open their safe' he doesn't ask why they need him to crack it and they don't tell him. However he is picked up for the job within a few days and only gets released because his nephew is the chief of police. Forced to leave town in exchange for release he heads to Buenos Aries and takes up training with the police force there thanks to an "in" from his uncle. However Zapa soon realises that this will not be an easy job compared to his last one and indeed may expose him to more wrongdoing than his safecracking assignments.

It must be said that this film surprised me by how slow sections of it appeared to be and how I was left totally uninterested by some parts of it – something, considering the subject, I never expected. The film is not so much about Zapa as a person as it is about the corruption of the police (well, authorities generally) in Argentina and how even "good" people cannot cope to overcome something when they are surrounded by it. In this regard it could have been a fascinating look at corruption told within a thriller format where the main character is interesting because we see him fall morally and get to see the conflict he goes through as a result. Sadly the film doesn't really manage to do a great of this to any great extent. This is not to say that it is valueless, because it is not without positive aspects and it is interesting as an allegory of how corruption corrupts but it just felt that it could have been better in almost every area if it just was a bit better.

The character of Zapa does change during the film but I never really felt for the guy or got to grips with who he was – the change was the all and his character was less important. Likewise the corruption played out is not that gripping and I would have liked to see it delivered as more of an eye-opener as opposed to just being general wallpaper (although I suppose the corruption is so normal that this delivery is part of the film's point). I know that to some degree I am expecting this film to be something it wasn't but it is hard to watch it without seeing weaknesses that could have been strengthened by a bit more development or tightening in key areas. The cast is OK and Roman does well enough to keep the film going but I did wonder if he understood his character any better than I did. The supporting cast are all effective and provide as much support as is required although I would have liked to have seen some stronger characters in there.

Overall this is an interesting film that acts as an indictment on police corruption within Argentina and perhaps, bearing in mind the state of that country, a judgement on authority full stop. The narrative could have been tighter, the characters could have been realer and more engaging and the script been better but, despite these flaws, it is still worth a watch for what it does do.