109 minutes / Color
Spanish / English subtitles
Release: 2018
Copyright: 2018
Set in Argentina during the Dirty War of the mid-seventies, on the eve of the nation’s descent into a military dictatorship, Benjamín Naishtat’s hypnotic neo-noir drama follows Claudio (Darío Grandinetti, WILD TALES, TALK TO HER) a renowned middle-aged lawyer living a seemingly picture-perfect life in a deceptively quiet provincial city. One night, a stranger starts insulting Claudio in a restaurant for no apparent reason. The community supports him; the stranger is humiliated and removed. Later that night, the stranger—determined to wreak a terrible vengeance—intercepts Claudio and his wife Susana (Andrea Frigerio). Claudio then starts to move down a path of no return involving death, secrets, and silences—further complicated by the arrival of a Chilean private detective (Afredo Castro, THE CLUB, TONY MANERO).
With powerful performances from its leading cast, ROJO is a timely drama whose South American historical references hold eerie resonance for our contemporary political moment—suggesting social complicity in the unfolding of far-reaching authoritarian regimes.
"This could be Naishtat’s most widely seen work to date and help consolidate his reputation as an exciting new voice in Argentinean cinema." —Hollywood Reporter
"It's powerful material, deftly delivered." —The Times (UK)
"A disquieting parable of iniquity." —The Guardian
"ROJO is a sophisticatedly entertaining reminder of our propensity for malevolent apathy." —Los Angeles Times
"Naishtat’s subtle, twisting, state-of-the-nation drama works effectively as a noir-like thriller, and as an exploration of a country that has lost its moral compass." —Screen International
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