No. 33 (2021) HEROIC LOSERS (LA ODISEA DE LOS GILES) Palace Spanish Film Festival MAY 6th.

 

Film No. 33 (2021)  May 6th.  10:30 AM.  Cinema 2  LUNA SX Fremantle.

"But one day the abuse that us fools are used to turns into a real kick in the balls" (Fermin's voice over sets the scene for the two hours we are about experience with his partners).

I have experienced very few Argentinian films over time. More is the pity, I think to myself, after spending a fun couple of hours in the hands of one of the country's star performers Ricardo Darin. HEROIC LOSERS is a crowd pleaser. There is nothing new in the plot-line to this heist drama but like all cinema where we know what's going to happen, it's all about the execution.

So much of the slightly long, feel-good film belongs to Darin as Fermin. His slept in demeanour and optimistic outlook make him the perfect hero. Fermin and wife Lidia (Veronica Llinas) have an idea to re-open the local cooperative, thus stimulating the local economy and breath life back into their community. But to make it happen they need to form a cooperative of another kind; investors to buy the land an buildings.   

When the Argentinian economy collapsed in the late nineties the hurt it created was vast, the repercussions can still be felt in the country. So what if some of those hurt fought back and regained (with interest) what was taken from them? And what if the heroes are the likable working class, not too bright but hearts the size of footballs, the sorts of footballs Fermin used to kick about as a local star years prior? Well then, the seed for this film is planted.

What's not to like about LA ODISEA? The English translation to HEROIC LOSERS isn't too flattering because our heroes are anything but losers in my eyes. Likeable ruffians more like. There is nothing ground breaking here but OCEANS 11, while Hollywood slick, was no less engaging than LA ODISEA and certainly less grounded. Fermin and his fellow investors are definitely engaging. 9GUMS.