This film has not yet been reviewed. Check back later for the complete review here on FilmThreat.com. Synopsis: In this story of love, greed, and intrigue, the “loco” of the title is not craziness, but the name of an endangered species of shellfish reputed for its aphrodisiacal powers. Canuto recruits his old diving buddy Jorge for a business deal which he advertises as both sure and legal.Backed by “Fujimori,” posing as a wealthy Japanese businessman, they will corner the entire season’s loco harvest–a one-week event in Puerto Gala, an isolated Patagonian town which is in reality a kind of Chilean wild West. And wild it is. There is the saloon run by the severe but ravishing Sonia, an old flame of Canuto’s, and waitress Nelly, vivacious, fresh, and ready. There is the traveling band of w****s whose bus is floated into port on a barge and who proceed to lay waste to the town. And there is Padre Luis, the village priest and only force of moral order, who, with his elderly and doting assistant Juana, produces a nightly soap opera, “Endless Love,” the hit feature of Radio Mother of Divine Providence.
The parallel love stories of Canuto and Sonia and Jorge and Nelly get off to a fast start, one a hesitating but hot re-exploration of a disappointed affair, the other a tale of blossoming first romance. As the village goes wild, with days spent in grueling dives for loco and nights spent drinking and whoring, the sinister plot of Canuto-Fujimori moves silently forward, setting the stage for a dizzying fifteen-minute tragicomic denouement.
Loco Fever is director Andres Wood’s second feature film after his widely acclaimed 1997 debut, Historias de Futbol. It features a tight ensemble of vividly drawn, well-played characters, an animated, percussive score, and rich cinematography.
