"Based on the true story of the Puccio Family." This is The Clan (El Clan). This Argentine biographical crime film written and directed by Pablo Trapero. The film tells the true story of the Puccio clan, a family with a dark secret lurking beneath their seemingly ordinary facade: they earn millions in ransom for the wealthy people they kidnap.
In 2007, Trapero initiated the idea of making a film about the Puccios. By late 2014, Guillermo Francella, Peter Lanzani, Lili Popovich, Gastón Cocchiarale, Giselle Motta, Franco Masini, and Antonia Bengoechea were cast as the Puccio clan. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early 2015. Filming took place in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. Guillermo Manoukian and Rogelia Pozzi, relatives of the Puccios' victims, knew early on about Trapero's intention to shoot the film. They supported the project, as long as it was a serious film, and provided information about the case which was incorporated into the plot. Due to the long period of production, the film missed the opportunity to participate in the Cannes festival.
The film stars Francella, Lanzani, Popovich, Cocchiarale, Motta, Masini, and Bengoechea. The cast tips into melodrama with characters so desperate they are driven to extremes, but that's noir territory. It's an entertaining, albeit disturbing, ride with a helluva final destination. Francella's performance is sleek and unsettling. The Argentinean actor Francella has an almost Bogart-like gift for playing world-weary rotters with a core of nobility.
The film's plotting is at times ragged and muffled, though this might be intentional, a way of suggesting the endless ramifications of the endemic corruption. The performances, however, have depth and resonance. The film's bitterness of vision may owe as much to style as to content: this is not King Lear, it does not go deep. But a vision of sorts it is, harsh and haunting. It's relatively effective as a thriller, but rarely welcomes the viewer into its world of legalities and despair. This is not just about a family drama. It also deals with strong family values, or lack there of, and corruption within the Argentine society and the violence that it spawns. Without resorting to sensationalism, gratuitous gore, false spirituality, or any extraneous artificiality, Trapero has fashioned an emotionally involving picture. Trapero is a force, as a filmmaker, in Argentina's exploding though financially strapped film industry. Though, at times, Trapero is undermined by a weak screenplay for this story of organized crime in Argentina. Even when tackling more mainstream fare, Trapero does it with integrity. Edgy and abrupt, jumping from scene to scene breathlessly without resorting to thriller tropes, while creating a sense of impending danger. It is hard to watch, though fascinating for its performances, and the bottomless corruption it portrays. With the help of two stand-out performances - from Francella and Lanzani - the film manages to engage and educate its audience in a heartfelt, if noisy, manner. Visually and viscerally, the film makes for a chilling and sobering hundred and eight minutes.
Simon says The Clan (El Clan) receives:
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