PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

Arquimedes Puccio is a gangster patriarch ruling over his local turf in Buenos Aires in the 1980s. Things are in flux since the dictatorship fell, and mobsters are enjoying special access to the elites of society. Behind the respectable façade of a well-to-do family living above a surf shop, business as usual for Arquimedes involves kidnapping wealthy neighbours for ransom. He is ably assisted by his eldest son, handsome rugby player Alejandro, who uses his fame and popularity to identify possible targets.

Director Pablo Trapero’s films have not really had a presence here in Australia prior to this, but boy am I going to be keeping an eye out for his future projects based on this one. He expertly handles this true-life noir thriller, exposing and exploring a dark period in the history of his home country. It invites comparisons with the classic Coppola film The Godfather, with its ‘rise and fall’ narrative and examination of the nature of evil and the true cost of family loyalty. And the main actor Guillermo Francella is chilling with his piercing blue eyes and pale face, as he goes about his grubby grisly schemes.

Winner of the Best Director prize at the Venice Film festival, The Clan is a must-see classic of modern Argentinian cinema.