Santiago, an Argentinian corporal, faces a perplexing metamorphosis as he finds himself on the lam in neighboring Uruguay in multi-hyphenate Daniel Hendler’s third feature, “A Loose End” (“Un cabo suelto”).
Sold by Argentina’s Meikincine, the movie receives its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival as part of the Venezia Spotlight program, bowing on Sept.3.
“We are truly excited and honored to present the world premiere of ‘A Loose End’ at the Venice International Film Festival. We admire Daniel Hendler’s talent for creating a world that feels both universally resonant and authentically local. With its blend of intelligent humor, tenderness, and humanity, the film introduces unforgettable characters and a story with strong potential to captivate worldwide audiences,” Lucía and Julia Meik, who head Meikincine (“Mensaje en una botella”), told Variety.
Hendler released his first feature in 2010. Distinguished by its hangdog humor, “Norberto’s Deadline” snagged San Sebastian’s TVE award. He’s collaborated on scripts with some of Argetina’s best: Daniel Burman (“Yosi, the Regretful Spy”), Ariel Winograd (“The Heist of the Century”) and Natalia Meta (“The Intruder”). His second feature, 2016’s “The Candidate,” earned him best director at the Miami Film Festival alongside a screenplay nod at the New York Havana Film Festival. Hendler additionally scored a Berlin Silver Bear for best actor for his role in Burman’s “Lost Embrace.”
With “A Loose End” he manages a highly-atmospheric, multigenre feature that blends anxious uncertainty, acerbic dialogue and a cast of characters that exude warmth against dogged bravado. The film captures not only the sleepy and aesthetic landscapes of Uruguay, but the feeling of being between two worlds, on the precipice of belonging to something brand new, that sits just out of reach.
“It’s similar to that transitional state, before entering wakefulness, when we wake from a dream we can barely remember, and the more we try to understand it, to grasp it, the further it recedes, slipping away from us,” Hendler relayed. “It also makes me think of a recurring dream in which I’m driving a car out of control, blindly, not knowing where it’s taking me. There’s something of that in this film, of that impossibility of controlling destiny and, at the same time, the certainty that we must change something about the reality we live in.”
In the trailer, shared in exclusivity with Variety, Santiago winds through neighboring Uruguay, slimly evading detection at each turn and heavily-relying on the authority his uniform provides. A series of ingratiating introductions later and his priorities shift from mere survival to curating a new future in the countryside that’s so graciously welcomed him. The thrills are suspended in time, allowing an audience to sit with the shaky emotions swirling around the idyllic rural expanse, which dutifully frames the protagonist’s trepidation, longing, doubt and joy.
“The film conveys the discomfort of the ‘non-place,’” Hendler noted. “I suppose the film invites us to discover this possibility of transformation, with the fear and hope that it implies.”
“With its structure somewhere between a detective story, a comedy and a strange road movie, it’s still a story about someone exiled and accepted by a new village, with its own rules and peculiarities,” Hendler explained. “Santiago isn’t judged for his past actions and mistakes because he’s willing to rebuild and start over. Although it can be uncomfortable to accompany the protagonist, it’s also comforting to think about the world more in this way, with that kind of empathy that embraces him,” he added.
“A Loose End” is produced by Micaela Solé at Uruguay’s Cordón Films (“Los Demonios”) alongside Ezequiel Borovinsky at Argentina’s Wanka Cine (“The Student”) and Luis Collar and Jorge Moreno at Spain’s Nephilim Producciones, which co-produced Laura Baumeister’s breakout feature “Daughter of Rage.”
The film stars Sergio Prina (“The Snatch Theif”), Pilar Gamboa (“The Flower”), Uruguayan musician Alberto Wolf and César Troncoso (“The Eternaut”). After its Venice bow, the feature —which won the WIP Latam Industry Award at San Sebastian last year — heads back to the Spanish festival for its prestigious Horizontes Latinos program in September.
variety.com
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