By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hernán Goldfrid
Starring: Alberto Ammann | Arturo Puig | Calu Rivero | Ricardo Darín
Original language title: Tesis sobre un homicidio
Country: argentina, spain
Year: 2013
Running time: 106
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2241605/combined
Bruce says: “The incomparable Ricardo Darin stars as Roberto Bermúdez, a professor of law who has acclaimed academic and forensic careers and a shambles of a personal life. The film opens with Roberto extremely hung over and lying on a living room sofa in a room that looks like it has been vandalized. Personal effects of all kinds, papers, and books are strewn everywhere. The telephone rings and we hear ‘Monica and Roberto are not here.’ Only later do we understand that Monica has left and is now married to one of Roberto’s friends.
“We next see Roberto lecturing in a classroom. After class, the son of a friend steps forward and introduces himself. Roberto has not seen Gonzalo since he was a child. ‘The last time I saw you was my ninth birthday,’ Gonzolo tells him. Gonzolo asks for advice and Roberto, tongue-in-cheek counsels, ‘Try to get laid as much as you can. The rest comes on its own.’ Not much later we see Roberto taking his own advice to heart, picking up a young woman at a cocktail party.
“When the body of a girl is found – raped, beaten and murdered – in the law school parking lot, Roberto rushes outside immediately upon hearing the news. A sign says ‘ Death to women like her.’ She has been suffocated. A butterfly necklace around her neck seems to have been placed there after death for there are no marks on her neck. The police arrive and joke that it is the first murder where ‘the lawyers arrive before the medics.’ Roberto becomes obsessed with solving the case. The body is identified as that of a waitress from a coffee shop near the law school.
“Gonzalo begins to seek Roberto out. He also spouts his theories about the universe. ‘You can crush a butterfly and wring it to death. Killing a butterfly is not illegal. If a man kills a butterfly belonging to a millionaire, he is arrested.’ Instantly Roberto realizes he is being toyed with. But why?
“Roberto tracks down the sister of the murdered girl. Her name is Laura di Natalie (Calu Rivero). She is devastated over her loss. Roberto decides to set a trap to catch Gonzolo by convincing Laura to take a job as a waitress where her sister had worked. The plan backfires when Gonzolo and Laura immediately connect and begin having an affair. Roberto realizes he has met his match and becomes desperate to find a way out of the trap that has been set for him.
“There is considerable suspense throughout the film. The superb cinematography plays a major role in setting and sustaining the proper mood. Ricardo Darin’s performance elevates the cat-and-mouse THESIS ON A HOMICIDE to a higher level, which is what great acting is all about. 4 cats
“(THESIS ON A HOMICIDE screened at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival.)”