Karnawal

Teenager Cabra lives in Northern Argentina with his mother, in an area at the border with Bolivia. Life is hard and his dream is to become a professional malambo dancer to escape his poor existence. There is an especially important competition held with carnival in which he wants to compete. But first he has to find the money for his dancing shoes. That is why he is persuaded into delivering a package, of which he does not know the contents, across the border.

The sudden visit of El Corto, his father, to his mother, upsets his preparations for the dance competition. El Corto, a criminal, was released from prison for a few days and he has not seen Cabra in ages. He wants to take this opportunity to get to know his now teenage son. But at the same time, El Corto also wants to pick up some shady business and he takes his son on a long and dangerous trip.

Karnawal is a truly dynamic film that has you sitting on the edge of your seat from the beginning. The malambo dance scenes are also immensely exciting. The malambo is an Argentinian macho dance built on gaucho tradition, a dance in which tough Argentinian cowboys imitate the galloping of horses with their impressive foot work (just like the Spanish flamenco). The young Martín López, who portrays Cabra, is a malambo champion and shows us some impressive dance moves.

Karnawal was filmed in the breath-taking landscape in the Andes, and is a combination of a family drama, a coming of age story, and a thriller, in which the protagonist has to choose between his father and his own future.