Buckle Up

Carancho

Carancho took Best Director (Pablo Trapero) and Best Actress (Martina Gusman) in the Fantastic Features category at the 2010 Fantastic Fest, and "fantastic" is a good word for this Argentinean romantic drama. See also "bloody" and "emotionally brutalizing": Yes, there's a heartrending love story at its fore, but the background is pocked with insurance scams and metal-crunching car crashes. Argentina apparently has one of the highest rates of auto fatalities in the world, a wincing statistic that motors the plot along and provides its most shuddering imagery.

Carancho screens this Sunday, Jan. 23, as part of the new Cine las Americas Signature Series at the Alamo Drafthouse, a monthly program highlighting new Spanish- and Portuguese-language cinema. (See Special Screenings for screening info.) Cine las Americas, which has become a force in year-round programming, also plans to announce soon its next free series at the Mexican American Cultural Center; its annual film festival proper takes place April 20-28.