Fantastic Fest 2010

Pablo Trapero’s CARANCHO—a Spanish phrase for a bird of prey—is an intense noirish thriller set in an unseemly world of shady doctors, corrupt cops, and, most importantly, sleazy lawyers. CARANCHO is without a doubt one of the finest films at this year’s Fantastic Fest.

In Argentina, more than 8,000 people a year die in road accidents. All of these car wrecks bring the possibility of big insurance payouts, which attracts a certain type of ruthless amoral lawyer. Sosa—played by Ricardo Dar’n who starred in Juan José Campanella’s Academy Award winning film THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES—is one of this special breed. He hovers around car wrecks, funerals, and emergency rooms like a vulture who catches the scent of a dying animal.

During his nightly search for clients, Sosa meets Lujan (Martina Gusman), a young emergency room doctor who rides shotgun in an ambulance. After repeatedly running into each other— Sosa always seems to be waiting at the wrecks—they become romantically involved. The pairing of a dubious ambulance chaser and a young nurse with some serious personal problems makes for a dangerous and volatile love affair.

The tone here is dark and cynical. Almost every character is involved in some kind of skullduggery, including: drugs, fraud, murder, and bribery. Many of the scenes take place in the dead of night where the darkness provides a cover for the characters’ nefarious deeds. The story is built around Sosa and Lujan’s romance, which gives the film a strong emotional core. Martina Gusman and Ricardo Dar’n—both of whom have an intense onscreen chemistry—strike a perfect balance of sympathetic and sleazy. Every single element of this film is absolutely on point. Do not miss it! (Rodney Perkins)

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