La noche

Martin moves around Buenos Aires at night, picking up guys, going to clubs, scoring drugs and having sex. Sometimes he's paying and sometimes his trans sex-worker friend or another woman takes him along for a threesome. With this matter-of-fact premise, first-time director Edgardo Castro (who also stars as Martin) takes us through the sexual underworld of the city. His film perfectly – and painfully – captures the feeling of being totally messed-up and of coming down, humiliated, and heading homeward in the early hours of the morning. It's bleak and uncompromising yet compelling. Its grungy shooting style matches the graphic material and there is something of Gaspar Noé to La Noche's provocation. If the film refuses to question Martin's motivations, or enquire as to the reason for his out-at-sea emotional state, surprising moments of tenderness offer a glimpse of intimacy and connection, accentuating the film's incredible power. (London Film Festival)