Hollywood may be taking a bit of a break from quality this time of the year, but fortunately, we still get to play catch-up with great foreign films just making their way to the states. Case-in-point: the new trailer for Carancho, an Argentinian love-story/film-noir set in the world of insurance pay-outs for car accidents. The preview, which is violent, kinetic and sexy all at once, evokes shades of Amores Perros, Bringing Out the Dead and maybe even a little of David Chronenberg's Crash. And then there's the swaggering Argentinian rock song that ties it all together. You may want to watch this one twice.
The plot concerns the aftermath of a love affair between lawyer and a young doctor who meet at the scene of a car accident. Based on the trailer, this aftermath gets pretty messy. The preview itself doesn't reveal much more than the setting of the film, but there's enough style, action and visceral punches here to where the plot isn't really an issue. Plus the film has already come out of Cannes and Toronto with quite a bit of acclaim. You'll definitely know whether you're on board for the movie or not by the end of the trailer.
And then there's the song that plays over it, which I presume is Argentinian. I'll admit that Spanish-language rock music is a bit of a blind spot for me, but if this sleazy, toe-tapping number is any indication, I should probably fix that. I did a bit of searching on what the song is and came up with nothing. Anyone more cultured who knows it should drop a line in the comments.
Verdict: Sold.