5/13/15

The Boss: Anatomy of a Crime

Argentina submitted "El patron, radiografia de un crimen" (English captions) for the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival. Based on true events, this award-winning film brings us a humble peon who gets a job in a big-city butcher shop. Unfortunately, he more he sees, the more he knows about the meat industry, corruption and the exploitation of workers.

Director Sebastián Schindel (Audience Award - Pusan International Film Festival 2014) shows us how our hero is extorted and pressured into virtual slavery. As our horror grows, we understand his reaction which launches this compelling, and true, story.

The cast:
  • Germán de Silva is Armando, the butcher who teaches our poor hero the tricks of the trade: the chemicals and other additives routinely used in the meat we eat.
  • Joaquin Furriel is Hermogenes, too poor and too grateful for this job to be critical. He keeps his mouth shut and follows orders because he saw his predecessor beaten for not obeying fast enough. 
  • Victoria Raposo is Clara, Hermogenes' homesick (and pregnant) wife.
  • Guillermo Pfening is Marcelo Di Giovanni, the attorney railroaded into taking this case but who then risks his career after he sees how unfairly our poor hero has been treated.
  • Mónica Lairana is Gladys, the attorney's wife who overcomes her annoyance and pitches in to help.
  • Luis Liembrowski is Latuada, Hermogenes' despicable boss. No punishment could be harsh enough!
We learn how a butcher can disguise the odor of rotting meat, enhance the color of ground beef and prepare chicken carcasses for sale. You may be sure every person in the theater was invested in the outcome of this case!