Arturo Goetz Movies

A dysfunctional family jumps the rails into bloody violence in this gritty thriller from Argentina. Arturo (Arturo Goetz) supports his family driving a taxi and seems to have a habit of attracting the strangest and most unstable fares in town. Arturo's constant exposure to the city's sordid underbelly has begun having a profound effect on him, which isn't helped by his rocky relationship with his son. Teenaged Leandro (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) makes his pocket money selling drugs on the street, though most of the time he seems more interested in bedding a neighborhood hooker who is clearly underage. In time, Arturo's growing instability and Leandro's open disrespect become a combustible combination that explodes with deadly force. La Sangre Brota (aka Blood Appears) was screened as part of the Critics' Week series at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Julio Chávez headlines Argentine director Ariel Rotter's quiet and low-key, Spanish-language psychological drama The Other. The film observes the events that befall Juan Desouza (Chávez), a middle-aged notary who hits a bleak mid-life crisis at the exact moment when he learns that his wife is expectant. Lonely and psychologically incommunicative, Juan heads off on a business trip and then, for some unstated reason, books into two separate hotel rooms under assumed identities. One is that of a passenger who expired on the bus seat next to him, and another is that of a deceased gentleman who owns some property that Juan is supposed to notarize. Meanwhile, Juan silently continues to grapple with a tenuous sense of his own identity. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Ana Katz's Spanish-language character drama A Wandering Bride (AKA Una Novia Errante, 2007) opens with paramours Ines (Katz) and German (Carlos Portaluppi) entangled in a heated and unpleasant altercation on a bus, en route a romantic vacation at the resort 'Mar de las Pampas.' Impetuously, Ines climbs off the bus at a stop. As it roars away, however, she turns to discover that German is not behind her. Lonely, nervous about the future of their relationship, and suffering from a swollen belly, Ines wanders through the woods, meets a few kind strangers, and learns archery. She then begins a series of increasingly desperate phone calls to German, alternately praising his virtues and branding him a silly coward. With no other option in sight, Ines eventually decides to visit the resort herself, throw her cares aside, and enjoy the vacation independently of German. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Lucrecia Martel directed this potent drama of love, sex, misunderstanding, and coming-of-age. Amalia (María Alche) is a girl edging into her early teens who has begun to ripen into adulthood. Amalia lives in a big hotel owned and operated by her divorced mother, Helena (Mercedes Morán), and her uncle Freddy (Alejandro Urdapilleta). Amalia and her best friend, Josefina (Julieta Zylberberg), are becoming increasingly aware of their own desires and are curious about sex, but between their Catholic education and Helena's unwillingness to discuss such matters with her daughter, their speculation outstrips their actual knowledge. A convention for medical workers brings Dr. Jano (Carlos Belloso) and a number of his colleagues to the hotel. Emboldened by the festive atmosphere, the timid doctor presses his body up against Amalia's, unaware of her age. The married Dr. Jano is embarrassed by his actions and troubled by his strong attraction to Helena; Amalia, meanwhile, is convinced the doctor has become overcome with unholy lust, and she and Josefina take it upon themselves to save him from himself before it is too late. La Niña Santa (aka The Holy Child) was produced in part by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide