White Elephant (15) 105 mins ****
The
increasingly reliable writer-director Pablo Trapero here structures a film
around a real-life landmark that symbolises Argentina’s internal chaos: the
Ciudad Oculta, a once-marbled, since-abandoned medical facility in Buenos Aires
that’s been taken over (and stripped bare) by gangs, junkies and the similarly
dispossessed. In trying to limit the bodycount, weary pastor Julián (Ricardo Darin) has himself
started to crack; his protégé Nicolás (Jérémie
Renier)’s
adventurous, hands-on approach to soul-saving further heightens local tensions.
Trapero avoids flashy, City of God-style
sensationalism: the drama emerges organically from the characters and this
striking, byzantine location – which makes it even more jolting when a riot
suddenly breaks out or zinging bullets threaten his leads’ best intentions. The
result’s an engrossing study of committed, conflicted professionals coming
under fire that’ll be of particular relevance for seasoned NHS-watchers: here,
but for the grace of God (or Government)…
White Elephant is in selected cinemas nationwide.
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