London Film Festival – Castro

After the sombre The Milk of Sorrow the night before, I was hoping Castro, an Argentinian film categorised as “Experimenta” by the BFI, would be a more fast paced affair. It was. In fact the entire movie is essentially one long chase sequence. The plot, what there is of it, centres around the eponymous Castro, a grumpy chap who is literally running away from his problems the entire film. He's running away from his nagging girlfriend who desperately wants him to get a job. When he eventually finds a job delivering mysterious parcels he has to run either with or from his colleagues. Finally he's unknowingly running away from mysterious characters who have been sent by his ex-wife to find him.

The plot really isn't important. The story is flimsy at best, the characters receive little development and we're never given any real reasons why these events are happening. But what Castro does well and what makes it so enjoyable is the fast paced and funny slapstick and mayhem happening on screen, handled with a expert hand by director Alejo Moguillansky. The film is essentially a string of comic scenarios, joyously played by the talented cast. With the smooth camera work and grubby South American city backdrop it has the look of a modern movie, but the curiously retro jaunty piano soundtrack coupled with the classic slapstick routines sometimes gives the film the feel of a Laurel and Hardy or Buster Keaton movie.

Castro is by no means a top flight film. Filmed on digital, the colours are harsh and unflattering, it's like watching camcorder footage (it wouldn't surprise me if it was filmed on camcorder.) As mentioned the plot is flimsy and the slightly surreal finale is disappointing. But at a tidy ninety minutes this funny, entertaining film doesn't outstay its welcome and was well worth a watch.