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Pablo Trapero has been the most consistently intriguing of all Argentinian New Wave directors. Crane World, El Bonarense and Familia Rodante demonstrated an ability to show how socio-economic reality impacts upon the psyche. But he takes his fascination with emotion a step further in his fourth feature, which deserves to be considered alongside such studies of grief as François Ozon's Sous le Sable and Nanni Moretti's The Son's Room. Unable to remain in Buenos Aires following a car crash involving his wife and daughter, Guillermo Pfening heads for Patagonia and takes a job at a remote airstrip, where he's consoled by the mindless repetition of his chores and the undemanding cameraderie of workmates Federico Esquerro and Tomas Lipan, who have their own domestic crises to address. Impeccably performed by an ensemble atuned to modern man's genius for showing solidarity through akward silence, this affectionate, Kaurismäkian contrast between humanity's insignificance and its estimable indomitability is made all the more compelling by Guillermo Nieto's prodigious vistas and an evocative soundtrack mix of impromptu music and natural noises.

 

David Parkinson on 20th December 2007
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