This film, to the best of my knowledge, has not had a commercial run in this country. It's director, Adrian Caetano, shows he can do a lot, with a little budget. He has decided to show a seamy part of life among Argentine poorer classes.
At the center of the story we have an ex-con who has just been released from prison after killing a cop in a botched robbery. He has come back to a non existing family since his wife is now living with another man. His daughter, who was a year old when he was incarcerated doesn't even know him.
It is to this world that Oso returns. He wants to be paid the money that his old boss, Turco, owes him, without any luck. He also wants to know his daughter, Alicia, who slowly begins to respond to him. He also would like to have Natalia back, without any success. Oso is doomed from the beginning; his attempts to find a job and go straight hit a snag when he is offered to participate in a robbery by Turco.
At the center of almost every frame of the film we watch Oso's face. Mr. Chavez registers all of Oso's emotions clearly. We see this man that has been hardened by his life in prison going through a new reality in his life. He is a desperate man in search of revenge. The end of the film is ironic, at best, because we realize that Oso, deep down inside, is a man that has reconciled himself with the new situation in his life.
Julio Chavez gives a nuanced performance as Oso. He is a man that projects an animalistic force, even when he is not doing anything. Soledad Villamil, as Natalia, Oso's former wife, is good also. Luis Machin, Rene Lavand, and above all, young Agostina Lage, are perfect in their roles.
Not having seen anything by Adrian Caetano, this film served as an introduction to his work and we look forward for more of his movies because he shows he can deliver.
At the center of the story we have an ex-con who has just been released from prison after killing a cop in a botched robbery. He has come back to a non existing family since his wife is now living with another man. His daughter, who was a year old when he was incarcerated doesn't even know him.
It is to this world that Oso returns. He wants to be paid the money that his old boss, Turco, owes him, without any luck. He also wants to know his daughter, Alicia, who slowly begins to respond to him. He also would like to have Natalia back, without any success. Oso is doomed from the beginning; his attempts to find a job and go straight hit a snag when he is offered to participate in a robbery by Turco.
At the center of almost every frame of the film we watch Oso's face. Mr. Chavez registers all of Oso's emotions clearly. We see this man that has been hardened by his life in prison going through a new reality in his life. He is a desperate man in search of revenge. The end of the film is ironic, at best, because we realize that Oso, deep down inside, is a man that has reconciled himself with the new situation in his life.
Julio Chavez gives a nuanced performance as Oso. He is a man that projects an animalistic force, even when he is not doing anything. Soledad Villamil, as Natalia, Oso's former wife, is good also. Luis Machin, Rene Lavand, and above all, young Agostina Lage, are perfect in their roles.
Not having seen anything by Adrian Caetano, this film served as an introduction to his work and we look forward for more of his movies because he shows he can deliver.