Year:  2022

Director:  Lucas Combina

Release:  June/July 2023

Running time: 113 minutes

Worth: $10.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

Cast:
Nicolás Francella, Joaquin Batista Yaber, César Bordón, Matías Mayer, Alberto Ajaka, Pablo Tolosa

Intro:
Fluid hand-held camera work keeps this story moving, although it does plod along towards a grisly conclusion.

A man goes missing. Authorities are called into action. With the help of a brisk montage, we get a recap of the events surrounding the disappearance of a wealthy and prominent Syrian businessman named Gabriel Samid (Pablo Tolosa) who, by these accounts, seems to be a playboy.

Set in Rosario, Argentina in 1980, during the dark days of the military dictatorship, A Singular Crime (alias Un Crimen Argentino) is a crime procedural based on the best-selling novel by Argentine journalist Reynaldo Sietecase. The police drama follows the painstaking investigation into the disappearance of Samid, who was last seen leaving a party in the city’s nightlife district in the company of another man.

The film follows two young judicial clerks, Antonio Rivas (Nicolás Francella) and Torres (Matías Mayer), as they investigate the case. The men are cautioned to proceed carefully. A meeting with the missing man’s family reveals a ransom of one million has been sought. Rivas and Torres arrange wire taps, conduct lengthy stakeouts and surveil a ransom drop in a café, but nothing they do achieves results.

Samid’s brother discloses to one of the investigators that the guy is a party animal with numerous hangers-on. He suspects that his brother will show up in a few days needing money. But there are far more sinister motives to uncover.

Fluid hand-held camera work keeps this story moving, although it does plod along towards a grisly conclusion. Our dogged heroes are hindered by the interference of the military-run police force, led by Cerbera (Alberto Ajaka), who are more interested in taking a more blunt approach to solving the crime. It becomes a race against time to find compelling evidence as Cerbera and his thugs employ brutal tactics on a possible accomplice.

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