A “carancho” is a bird of prey, and in Pablo Trapero's gritty thriller set in Buenos Aires, it refers to the bottom-feeders who scam vehicular-accident victims and the insurance industry (the pickings are plentiful: according to an opening title, Argentina averages 22 fatalities per day, nearly 8,000 per year). Ricardo Darín plays Sosa, a low-rent attorney who meets medic Luján (Martina Gusman) at a crash site. The pair instantly connect, although she refers to him as a vulture because he not only chases ambulances but also stages incidents with willing accomplices. As Trapero follows his protagonists on their rounds, it becomes clear that they lead lonely lives revolving around work, and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep going. Wanting to earn Luján's respect, Sosa is finally successful—until she glimpses the depths to which he'll sink and backs off. After one of his staged events goes wrong, Soza leaves his sleazy firm, considers his next move, and reignites his thwarted relationship with Luján; but becoming an independent player turns out to pose its own particular difficulties. Notwithstanding a more relaxed pace (until the pulse-pounding conclusion), Carancho sometimes recalls Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead—revolving around a burnt-out EMT in Hell's Kitchen—as both films take place primarily at night, when people are exhausted, vulnerable, and likely to make critical mistakes. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Carancho
Strand, 107 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $27.99, June 7 Volume 26, Issue 4
Carancho
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