eFM News

[Opening] Argentine filmmaker Pablo Trapero's “The Clan” that screened at the Jeonju Film Festival earlier this month is now showing in cinemas.

Movie critic Jason Bechervaise gives us more details in this report.


[Report]
Capturing volatile political and social climates is an audacious undertaking especially when also include dark humour, which was wonderfully mastered in Bong Joon Ho’s classic “Memories of Murder” released in 2003.

Another filmmaker that adopts a similar method is Argentine Pablo Trapero in his terrific thriller “The Clan” that is based on the on the case of Puccios, a family who kidnapped four people and murdered three of them in Buenos Aires in the early 1980s.

The film is a riveting thriller as it follows this family in a political climate, which shares some similarities to Korea in the 1980s as it began its transition into a democracy.

Trapero uses a vibrant soundtrack that includes tango music creating an intriguing ambience almost adding a comedic layer to the film despite its dark tone. Akin to Bong Joon Ho or the Coen Brothers, the dark humour underscores the film’s message as it conveys a period of turbulent history.

The film is also well-acted especially, Guillermo Francella who plays the head of the family and the man ultimately responsible for his family’s cruel transgressions.

The film is on a selected release after screening at the Jeonju International Film Festival earlier this month. Other films also showing in cinemas include the sequel “My New Sassy Girl” and Na Hong-jin’s “The Wailing” that received a rapturous reception following its press screening in Seoul last week.

Jason Bechervaise, eFM news.■