The Lion's Share
(La parte del león)

For his first film, Aristarain chose a detective mystery and, without straying from the rules of the genre, he highlights the climate of the times, which largely explains the behaviour of the characters, whose desires have been reduced to their personal salvation. A poor employee on the point of divorce lives out his anguish in a room that he rents in a down-market district. A failed bank robbery offers him the chance of a lifetime. The film is enthralling as its story suggests how money symbolically structures the aspirations of a given social class. It is also surprising to discover the grim Buenos Aires of 1977: the streets, the neighbourhood of a bank, an office or the view from the rooftops obliquely reflect a period characterised by fear. RK