Few people are more suited for each other than Sosa and Lujan, the sleazy protagonists of “Carancho,” director Pablo Trapero’s nocturnal tour of a hellish Buenos Aires.
Sosa (Ricardo Darin, of the Oscar-winning “The Secret in Their Eyes”) is a disbarred lawyer reduced to ambulance chasing. His job is to get power of attorney from accident victims: Once their insurance companies pay up, most of the pesos go to Sosa and his boss, known as “the Dog,” with the smallest portion getting to the victims themselves.
Lujan (Martina Gusman, the director’s wife) is a doctor. While she has better ethics than Sosa, she’s pretty much of a wipe- out thanks to drugs and long hours working in the ER.
They first meet on the street — she’s trying to save a man’s life and he’s attempting to pick up a new client. Their paths continue to cross until the day they end up in the sack together.
“Carancho” (translation: “Vulture”) is a technical and performance success. The chemistry between Sosa and Lujan heats up the screen as their lives spiral out of control, and the lights and shadows of nighttime Buenos Aires are compellingly captured by cinematographer Julian Apezteguia.
“Carancho” was Argentina’s nominee for the foreign-language Oscar. It didn’t make the short list, but life isn’t always fair.