Imagine, if you will, Aleksandr Sokurov’s Russian Ark as though Guy Ritchie directed it, and you’ll have some idea of the engrossing experience that is the edit-less stream of blood, bullets, and vengeance that is Cristian Tapia Marchiori’s Gunman (Gatillero).
Sergio Podeley is Pablo, whom we first encounter in a hail of chaos, crime, and gunfire that rips along for the rest of the picture’s rapid run time. Pablo, also known as El Galgo, is a man trying to stay alive and provide for his family in the corruption-stricken War-zone on the other side of the tracks of Isla Maciel in Buenos Aires.
Waring gangs are always on the lookout to throw cash at anyone’s fleet of foot to pull off some petty larceny and make a quick escape. The only problem for Pablo is, on this eve, when we first encounter him, he takes the wrong job, from the wrong neighborhood heavy, at the wrong time. This results in our protagonist venturing forward at terminal velocity into the worst night of his life.
After the heavy that hires him essentially leaves him holding the bag and taking the flack for executing another of the bosses of the blocks, known primarily as The Godmother (Julieta Diaz), he is now on the run to prove his innocence to those sent after his head.
“Pablo… takes the wrong job, from the wrong neighborhood heavy, at the wrong time.”
But redemption quickly escalates to revenge after the traitor who set him up kills a member of his family. This turns the chase into a hunt. With the clock ticking and the dawn rapidly approaching, we duck, run, hide, drive, and fire on the bad guys right alongside Pablo. His time is limited, and his life hangs in the balance as he uncovers a mystery at the heart of his betrayal, forcing him to put everything on the line to ultimately save his family, friends, and the innocent people of Isla Maciel from the perpetual tyranny of the Argentinian underground.
The main attraction of Marchiori’s Gunman, aside from a stellar central performance by Sergio Podeley, is the truly balletic nature of Martin Sapia’s cinematography. Though the director is also listed as editor, if there were cuts in this movie, I challenge you to find one. The camera drifts through long streets, into cars, onto bikes, and runs at furious speeds down alleys as the hero races against time and the odds.
My favorite Hitchcock movie is Rope. In it, the legendary master of suspense attempted to make a film that flowed along with edits. With the technology available to him, there are moments when the camera pushes into objects of décor as the camera cuts, reloads, and then continues. Gunman takes this concept and finally makes good on the promise. Though I imagine it was perhaps a logistical nightmare to coordinate all the characters and elements to converge and separate times for everything from intimate dialogue to street-wide shoot-outs, the result is something as unflinching and pulse-racing as the narrative at its furious heart.
"…the engrossing experience that is the edit-less stream of blood, bullets and vengeance"..."
