Los Marziano

Family gathering conflict comes with an Argentinian twist in this story of two estranged brothers and their sister, who is trying to broker a truce as a birthday reunion nears.

Juan (Guillermo Francella) is a loser of the highest order. Divorced and bitter about his lot in life, he has been struck with an unexplained brain ailment that has rendered him unable to read. His brother Luis (Arturo Puig) meanwhile, is lumbered with altogether more physical problems after falling down a hole in a golf course. With Juan's treatment set to cost way more than he can afford, Luis is the only hope of a quick buck, but can they reconcile their differences?

Ana Katz's film is uneasy in tone and though being set up as a comedy, there is an emphasis on whimsy rather than laughs, with the scripting and plotting never gathering a sufficient head of steam. Francella - best known to British audiences from his portrayal of Ricardo Darin's comic side-kick in The Secret In Their Eyes - shows his knack for comic timing once again and Puig is engaging, although since neither character is particularly likeable it's hard to care as much as we should. The scripting fails to convince.

Half-formed ideas about the nature of family and responsibility can be glimpsed but the action ends with a whimper rather than a bang.