In the meantime, the two must dodge a world full to the brim
of chameleon hucksters, cheating siblings, untrustworthy accomplices
and, of course, each other… Not to mention an unstable
economy that has just collpased sending the country's banks
into turmoil. (Tellingly, it's the authorities who seem the
least principled and dependable of the lot.)
It's played out in cinema-verité, all rough cutting,
long track shots and, in the end, a distinctively and deliberately
unpolished style.
This is no creepy and labyrinthine House of Games or The Spanish
Prisoner, but there's enough here to compare favourably with
David Mamet, whom Bielinsky has obviously studied with a keen
eye. Don't believe those who describe this as Argentina's answer
to Amores Perros either.
In the end, it's just a shame that the final twist fails to
excite or surprise.
