Latin Beat: Chile's EL INCONTROLABLE MUNDO DEL AZAR, Peru's PERRO GUARDIAN, Mexico's WORKERS

Chile's Wes Anderson?
Reporting By Jaime Grijalba Gomez in Chile

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar (aka The Uncontrollable World of Chance) looks like Wes Anderson, but it's three stories about three characters' encounters with chance. Fernando Lasalvia wrote and directed; it's his feature debut. Rodrigo Lisboa, Rafael Janssen, Elisa Zulueta, Fernando Larraín, Nissim Sharim, and Maria Elena Duvauchelle star in the comedy.

A synopsis posted at IMDb states: "Three episodes with surrealistic comedy elements compose No Control in a Random World. A Chilean kid who speaks only in German language; a man fighting with his mind about their way of living; and an old couple trying to solve a problem in silence, an uncomfortable and violent silence are the main elements of this film about how humans have no control in their decisions and how they easily accept all life mutations, even if they are the weirdest ones."

Watch the trailer below. The film opens in Chile on Thursday, June 26. More information is available at the official Facebook page. Click through to see more photos from the movie.

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar.

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar.

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar.

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar.

El Incontrolable Mundo del Azar.

Carlos Alcántara Goes To The Dark Side In The Official Trailer For PERRO GUARDIÁN
By Ernesto Zelaya Miñano, Reporting From Peru

“A killer shoots without asking; a righteous man wants to know why.”

Carlos Alcántara is without a doubt one of the most well-known and well-liked actors in our local film industry. Known primarily for his comedic chops, first with the Pataclaun theater troupe and lately with the box office smashes of Asu Mare and A Los 40, his easygoing, everyman charm has made him almost impossible to dislike. However, Carlos is now exploring his dark side in the gritty crime thriller Perro Guardián.

The actor plays Perro, a no-nonsense hitman who’s tasked with taking out the influential leader of a church. Things change, however, when he starts to bond with the people in this religious community, particularly a teenage girl played by singer/actress Mayra Goñi. This newfound spirituality will make him reevaluate his ways and his mission in life.

Even though Carlos has done dramatic parts before – he’s fondly remembered as martial arts crimefighter Dragón in the TV series La Gran Sangre (2006-07) – he’s called this one of the biggest challenges of his acting career in many interviews to local press. It remains to be seen whether audiences used to his relaxed comedic persona can accept him in a radically different role.

The film marks the directorial debut of Daniel Higashionna and Bacha Caravedo, who run the production company Señor Z; they’ve already had massive success in advertising, winning a lot of major awards.

An official trailer has just been released, which you can check out below. Click to the next slide to see the poster. Perro Guardián opens in wide release on September 4.

The poster for Carlos Alcántara's Perro Guardián, opening in Peru on September 4.

Canana To Release Morelia Winner WORKERS in Mexico
By Eric Ortiz Garcia, Reporting From Mexico

Jose Luis Valle’s Workers was presented back in October at Morelia, Mexico’s most important film festival; and there it won the top award (Best Mexican Feature). Earlier this year, it was also nominated for the Ariel Award (the Mexican Oscar) in five different categories, including Best Actor and Original Screenplay. Personally, I do think of it as one of the best Mexican efforts in recent memory.

Workers is set in Tijuana, but the protagonist is actually from El Salvador; he’s an illegal immigrant who has been laboring for many, many years in Mexico and now, during his last day of work, he is about to suffer the reality of the working laws for immigrants.

Audiences in Mexico have yet to experience this film and, fortunately, that is about to change. Workers is finally arriving to Mexican cinemas on Thursday, July 10, as film company Canana just confirmed. You can watch two clips of the film below, and read more of it on my “Best Mexican Cinema of 2013” piece (http://screenanarchy.com/2013/12/twitchs-best-of-2013---mexican-cinema-gallery.html). Expect my full review in the coming weeks.