Rest in Peace, an Argentinean film directed by Sebastian Bornesztein, premiered on Netflix this week. It is a narrative of how one man risks everything for his financial well-being but eventually survives. A man who is owed money by the protagonist threatens him with death if he does not pay back the amount he owes him. But a calamity occurs outside his wretched situation enabling him to rescue his family at great cost.
Rest in Peace was adapted from the book written under the same title. The movie follows Sergio Dayan (Joaquin Furriel), a businessman whose life has been made miserable by debts accumulated over time. Right from the start of the movie, there was an occasion when a sizeable birthday party was being held for her 13-year-old daughter. It felt like it was more about family, dancing and drinking or food; as if it were a wedding reception where people are just dying to celebrate.
In effect that’s Sergio’s last fun before winding up everything else, he actually owns a business and his employees might go on strike any moment now. He owes other individuals some cash including Hugo Brenner another business person (Gabriel Goity). In one of the scenes earlier in the film, Hugo asks for his money back but Sergio tells him he doesn’t have that kind of money. This character is never seen again after this scene.
One day, Sergio receives a parcel with photographs of his wife and kids coming out of their school gate taken secretly by an unknown person indicating that they will be killed unless if paid off within that day as well as nightfalling darkness comes through window leads to change which saves weirdly even though some true story comes into play here too.
Set in 1994 at the time of Argentina’s bombings and all-round chaos one can see without going far from what happened really then: it was an eighty-five explosion killing persons eighty- five dead another two hundred injured at the Argentinian Jewish Mutual Aid Association. One other feature that can be noted throughout the film is the presence of subtle nods to Jewish Argentinean culture in the country.
Sergio escapes barely alive with a few cuts and burns and decides that if he stages his own death so that his wife believes he is dead, they can take the life insurance money, pay off their debts and start over minus them. He moves to Paraguay under an alternate name and begins his life anew. In addition, Sergio falls in love with another woman; also he has a dog as well as a job yet he does all these things while his family has moved on to an adjoining country.
Rest in Peace starts by showing how difficult life can be for people who owe money they cannot pay especially when such financial help comes from people with bad intentions. Themes of men struggling to provide for their families pervade this movie but afterwards some of the drama dies down after the inciting incident occurs although it should actually pick up from there.
Rest in Peace has many moments that are on the screen, though it feels like there are so many times when the movie wants to tell us, “wait, you actually care about this story?” Really, while he is in Paraguay, one cannot feel for Sergio. His life changes too fast; at no point does he ever experience a lot of heartache. It seems as if this is an elongated montage that you know will end someday. Somehow or other, somehow or other, He would have to find his way and return to his family and Facebook could be just what he needs.
Just over fifteen years pass by on Facebook and social media within thirty minutes. With beard and long hair now grown on him, Sergio looks like a bum you try not to look at when walking down the street. Still though: he exists himself outside his own body. He stumbles across Facebook and finds his relatives through it before deciding where he will go.
It all picks up again with a twist we’ve already discovered by Sergio in the third act. The climax comes during his daughter’s wedding ceremony shot eerily similar to how the film started off. He sneaks into the wedding but nobody knows him there. He intends to be around for her departure too only to change mind and decide returning home so as take away his own life.
But 147 minutes later it’s all kind of happened way too quickly or An hour seems like nothing for such an exciting movie! These extremely dramatic beats are not quite dramatic enough when they need to be really emotional One more thing this ending does is frustrate me even more What I wish were a cathartic moment for Sergio instead cuts black.
Watch free movies on Fmovies
