Martina Gusman Movies

Auto accidents are an epidemic in Argentina, and two people with very different perspectives on the crisis are brought together in this drama from filmmaker Pablo Trapero. Sosa (Ricardo Darín) was once a respected attorney until his license to practice law was suspended, and now he makes ends meet offering his services under the table to accident victims hoping to make money in a lawsuit. One day, while staking out the scene of an auto wreck, Sosa meets Luján (Martina Gusman), a doctor who treats urgent cases. Despite her seemingly noble line of work, Luján has demons of her own, including a dependency on drugs, and she finds herself attracted to the morally conflicted lawyer, even after he helps to arrange for an accident for the benefit of a friend. Carancho was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Writer/director Pablo Trapero crafts this tender tale of an incarcerated woman who gives birth to a baby boy and struggles to raise her son behind bars as she comes to the bleak realization that he is the only one who matters to her anymore. It all started when a pregnant Julia woke up in her apartment flanked by the bloodied bodies of her former lovers Nahuel and Romiro. Subsequently sent to a prison for mothers and pregnant convicts, Julia railed against the system by withdrawing into her own world. Upon giving birth, Julia realizes just how difficult it could be to raise a son in prison, but each day her feelings for the boy swell stronger within her. Later, when Julia pays a visit to Romiro in the men's prison, it becomes obvious that the couple's feelings for one another are just as muddled as the events of that fateful night back in Julia's apartment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man is forced to pick up the pieces of a shattered life in this emotional drama from Argentine filmmaker Pablo Trapero. Santiago (Guillermo Pfening) is a successful interior designer with a beautiful and loving wife, Milli (Martina Gusman); a happy and healthy young daughter, Josefina (Victoria Vescio); and a beautiful home. Santiago's charmed life comes to a crashing halt when an accident during a trip to visit relatives takes the life of Milli and Josefina, forcing the emotionally scarred husband and father to survive on his own. Santiago leaves his old life and career behind and moves to Patagonia in Southern Argentina, where he takes a job in a small airport and lives alone in a tiny shack. Santiago struggles to make it through his work days and usually devotes his evenings to drowning his memories in liquor, often joined by his friends Robert (Federico Esquerro) and Cacique (Tomas Lipan). While Santiago refuses to talk about his life before he came to Patagonia, it's obvious to everyone that he's haunted by something terrible, though Santiago is a long time in coming to terms with the demons that haunt him. Nacido y Criado (aka Born and Bred) received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Argentinean writer/director Pablo Trapero (El Bonaerense, Crane World) takes to the road in Rolling Family. Emilia (Graciana Chironi) is the matriarch of a family living in Buenos Aires. When she learns that her sister's daughter is getting married, she gathers the whole family for a trip to her hometown of Misiones, on the border of Brazil. One of her daughters, Marta (Liliana Capuro), is married to Oscar (Bernardo Forteza). Marta calls him "Fatso," and he owns the RV the family uses for the trip. They have a teenage son, Gustavo (Raul Viñona), and a little boy, Matias (Nicolás López). Their older daughter, Paola (Laura Glave), ends up joining the party at the last moment when she tearfully walks out on her druggie boyfriend, Claudio (Federico Esquerro), and shows up on the family's doorstep in tears with her infant son. Also on board is Emilia's other daughter, Claudia (Ruth Dobel), and her husband, Ernesto (Carlos Resta). They bring their teen daughter, Yanina (Marianela Pedano), who brings along a friend, Nadia (Leila Gomez). Complications arise as soon as the trip begins. In addition to the problems that might be expected (car trouble, a run-in with the police), relationships get tangled. The boy-crazy Yanina aggressively pursues her cousin, Gustavo, who is more interested in Nadia. Claudio catches up with the family on his motorcycle, and gets into an altercation with Oscar. Things get even more heated when Ernesto begins flirting with Marta, his sister-in-law. All these problems surface with the entire family jammed into a small space, putting the entire trip in jeopardy. Rolling Family was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center at the 2004 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi