Kill the Jockey

Argentinian auteur Luis Ortega, whose unique filmography includes Monobloc (TIFF ’05), Los santos sucios (TIFF ’09), and El Ángel (TIFF ’18), returns to the Festival with a film that places him back at the centre of the most visionary currents of contemporary Latin American cinema.

The deceptively straightforward narrative follows jockeys Remo (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) and his partner Abril (a superb Úrsula Corberó, known for the series Money Heist). Remo is a former star struggling with relentless addictions and a dangerously stubborn drive to remain relevant. Abril, though technically ready to take over from Remo and pursue greater success in racing, debates continuing her pregnancy. (In one memorable scene, the couple regale us with an unmissable dance sequence.)

The pair are linked to Sirena (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a mobster who has saved Remo’s life in the past and who is betting hard on him winning the coming races. After an unfortunate accident kills a valuable horse, Remo disappears into the seedy streets of Buenos Aires, and Sirena sends his thugs to turn over every stone in town to find him.

What follows, in the talented hands of cinematographer Timo Salminen, is a dreamlike immersion into the unstable identity of a fugitive whose life cycle has been altered, seemingly forever. Ortega’s latest film is a weirdly spiritual, fun, sexy, heartfelt, and wholly unforgettable thriller.

DIANA CADAVID

Content advisory: violence, mature themes, drug use