The Clan (2016)

I did not like the movie as much as i liked the story its self. I belive it couldve been better since that the story is really good so i would recommend to read about it and watch some videos rather than watching the movie.

After the fall of General Galtieri in 1980's Argentina; some of the old guard did not accept that democracy and law and order were here to stay. They wanted the old ways back and the money that went hand in hand with corruption. The Puccio family was ahead of the pack, the patriarch was one Arquimedes Puccio played by the ever reliable Guillermo Francella ('The Secret in their eyes') and he led his whole family and a gang in kidnap torture and extortion. His middle son was Alex who was a rising star in Rugby Union and his eldest brother had already done the same but had side stepped the family and escaped to New Zealand. However many hands do make light work and so Arquimedes went out of his way to ensure as many of the Clan as possible were 'hands on'.Now this is based on a real story and it is quite amazing that a modern country could allow such atrocities to take place – but that is the way of the World with criminals everywhere. The film itself is Argentina's biggest earner ever and you can see why. The acting is all great as is the period detail. It jumps around from past to present etc but that is easy to follow. There are some upsetting scenes but the nasty stuff is mostly played down. This is a film that you may get more from on a second viewing but either way it is most certainly worth seeing at least once.

My wife and I saw this film at the Louisiana Film Festival last night not knowing what to expect. Before I go on, my wife and I have totally different views and tastes when it comes to the art of film but this time we both came out of "El Clan" pretty satisfied. This film started off pretty slow but did get a little more riveting as it went on. There really were no big surprises or twists in this film. It was pretty much straight forward but got more interesting as the film went on. The story is simple; The Puccio Family, who is a model family on the outside, is a family that is in the business of kidnapping rich people for money and then killing them. Arquimedes Puccio (Guillermo Francella) is a respectable store owner who has an adoring wife and five respectable kids but all of this is a front for what they really do, simple but good. The acting in this film was great, especially from Guillermo Francella who played the part of Arquimedes Puccio, the totalitarian leader of "El Clan". The program director for the film festival mentioned, because this film didn't win or get a nomination for the foreign film category at the Oscars, Twentieth Century Fox decided to drop it, which is a shame because it's actually a decent film. I had no regrets seeing it.

Near the end of the "Spanish Film Festival" in Perth, I saw "The Clan" which tells the story of Puccio's, a family of well off Argentinians who kidnap the wealthy for ransom and hold them in their home. Headed by menacing patriarch Arquímedes Puccio, the film is based on true events, being set between 1981 and 1985 in the aftermath of the fascist Videla regime. Arquimedes worked for the government, helping subversives "disappear", so when he was out a job, he moved onto kidnapping for profit.Helping him alongside his gang of thugs is his son, Alejandro, a rugby player whose aspirations are higher than living a life of crime.The father-son dynamic makes The Clan quite an interesting watch, setting it apart from other typical true crime dramas. I was invested in the plot and the strong acting from Guillermo Fancella and Juan Pedro Lanzani. The movie is very stylish as well, taking a page from Martin Scorsese movies, having interesting camera setups, never shying away from sex and violence, and sometimes telling the movie out of order.That said, the rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting, and are really more in the background, only having lines to forward the plot. The movie has a lot of attention paid to the kidnappings, but the formula of showing long, fluid takes that have English pop music playing in the background got a bit tiresome during the middle of the second act when it took focus away from Alejandro, and more on Arquimedes' other son, who returned home after away playing rugby. It would have also been interesting to have seen some more of Aquimedes' past, instead of it just being show in the opening, and then mentioned in passing.While it isn't the most original movie in its presentation, it's an interesting one, and a good place to start if you want to get into watching foreign-language films that are entertaining and accessible.