Completed - SPANISH-ARGENTINE - Western - 70 minutes
Matia, an underprivileged kid, flees to a group of islands of the Parana River. In unfamiliar territory, he tries to rebuild his life, but tension on the island generated from his arrival forces Matia to revert his criminal past. Once again he is faced with the notion of escaping to survive.
Year of production : 2019 Director(s) : Franco GONZALEZ, Demian SANTANDER Writer(s) : Franco GONZALEZ, Demian SANTANDER Cast : Cristian SALGUERO, Mercedes BURGOS, Héctor BORDONI, Facundo AQUINOS, Fernando MADANEZ Producer(s) : Papu CUROTTO (Hain Cine Srl), Santiago PODESTA (Hain Cine Srl)
Matía, a young man from the streets with a marginal past, running away, arrives swimming at one of the islands of the Paraná River. Once he is there, he meets El Correntino, foreman in a ranch, he gets him a humble house and a job as a field laborer: lost, Matía starts a new life. A mutt dog follows him everywhere and as he herds the cattle, he becomes friends with Gustavito, a field laborer with whom he often goes to the only bar there is in the island. There he meets Gaby, the daughter of El Correntino. After meeting a few times and exchanging stares, they begin an affair. Gaby has a difficult relationship with her father and she quickly decides to move in with Matía. This makes the relationship between the two men more difficult.Summer goes by and Matía's stay is just more of the same: he's upset and can't stand this alienating routine with no future. From this place of loneliness that doesn't let him be happy, he decides with Gustavito to steal some cows from El Correntino. Surreptitiously, they take advantage of the rising tide that's about to come and of the fact that they need to transport the cattle to higher lands, to keep some of the animals. Meanwhile, Gaby insists that they should move to town to get further away from El Correntino but also because she suspects that Matía is involved in some sort of monkey business with Gustavito. Matía turns a deaf ear to any type of accusation and his relationship with Gaby comes to an end when he refuses to move to town with her. The tension grows when El Correntino hears some rumors of what his laborers have been up to; he decides to confront them but before, he wants Gaby back with him.El Correntino arrives to his daughter’s ranch to take her back by force but she greets him with her machete and escapes from the island. When Matia arrives he sees El Correntino’s boat docked and fears that something bad has happened. He screams out for La Gaby who does not respond. Nor does the dog appear. He approaches to the ranch with his riffle drawn when El Correntino comes out from inside initiating a gun fight. Matia falls down, out of breath, while El Correntino approaches with his gun pointing at him. This is how he meets his end: dragged with his eyes open into the tall grass. A death constructed as the only possibility and a refuge for his loneliness.
Country(ies) : ARGENTINA
BAFICI (Buenos Aires) 2019 (Official Competition)