Tropic Sprockets / Azor

By Ian Brockway

Andreas Fontana directs “Azor” It is an eerie, unsettling film about the quest for power and influence in Argentina. The intense, melancholy progression puts it in the category of Pablo Larrain’s film “No” which focused on Chile.

From the very first, the film compels and pulls you in.

Yvan (Fabrizio Rongione) is a Swiss banker in Argentina with his wife (Stephanie Cléau) on business. Yvan’s partner is inexplicably missing and he is sent as a replacement. He constantly asks about his missing associate Keys and is rebuffed every time.

Yvan is sent to meet the lawyer Dekerman (Juan Pablo Geretto) but the man is evasive, glib and downright vulgar, mentioning sexual subjects. 

Guns are ubiquitous with kidnappings and murders mentioned at every corner. Yvan does not know quite where to turn without feeling claustrophobic and paranoid. He adopts a passive robotic manner, as if sleepwalking from day to day. It is the only way he can cope, managing to stay alive without threat of danger. His wife feigns lack of interest preferring to gossip but in secret, she urges Yvan to dominate and take control of the firm.

In the manner of Jacques Deray’s “La Piscine” a swim in the sun feels predatory and an outdoor dinner becomes claustrophobic. 

There is a priest Fr. Totoski (Pablo Torre Nilson) who is soporific, eerie and manipulative. It feels as though he might even practice mind control.

Gradually through leering and condescending looks Yvan is in jeopardy of losing his moral grip and his sense of security.

The influence of Paul Schrader is evident here. With every odd, off-putting encounter there is the harsh sound of a synthesizer coupled with jarring lights. Yvan knows someone or something is out to get him but he is clueless as to the form or shape of such an entity.

By the end of the film as he journeys through the swamp, it appears his mind is half dissolved with a capitalist fever or greed, a mindless smile plastered on his face.

“Azor” is a gripping, satisfying and disquieting film. Stay vigilant. There is nothing as uneasy as an appropriate smile composed with good intentions.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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