By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Rodrigo Moerno
Starring: Cristina Villamor | Julio Chávez | Osmar Núñez
Country: argentina
Year: 2007
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462242/
Bruce says: “Custodio translates as bodyguard in English. Ruben (Julio Chávez) is a personal bodyguard for the Planning Minister (Osmar Núñez) in the Argentine government. The Minister is a social animal – weaving work and pleasure as he darts from family to office to mistress. He constantly is talking often carrying on one conversation in person while he handles a second on his cellphone. It is quite a contrast with the man who is in charge of his safety. Ruben’s job requires his being alert yet silent. Ruben is always observing, never participating.
“Ruben’s unstable sister (Cristina Villamor) is institutionalized. He does his best to be supportive. But she cannot reciprocate in any way. An amusing scene finds Ruben taking the extended family to a Chinese restaurant where his sister wants her daughter to sing for the diners.
“For the first part of the film it is difficult to read whether Ruben is the consummate professional or a person who has shut himself off from the world. Only once does Ruben have a conversation with another bodyguard. It is cryptic. ‘Financial.’ ‘Planning.’ ‘I know you. You were famous.’ And that is how we learn Ruben has had another life as a gunner on the border. Later, a visit to a prostitute finally gives away some clues which prepare the viewer for what happens later.
“Julio Chávez is a wonderful actor who must convey each thought with a minimum of movement and little or no dialogue. Writer/director Rodrigo Moreno has created a truly memorable character study plus EL CUSTODIO has a lot to say about social status as well. A study in loneliness, the film is slow moving and painstaking in its portraiture. The camera acts as Ruben in many scenes, always on the outside looking in. The film is as much focused on sound as it is on the visual experience. Throughout we hear thunder, car engines, running steps, Velcro, giggles, heavy breathing, snoring, alarms, screeching tires, gurgles and paper whispering in the wind. We share Ruben’s world. 4 cats
“EL CUSTODIO screened at the 2007 New Directors/New Films festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”