Rodrigo Moreno, the director of this award-winning film, The Delinquents, which serves as a parody about how things can go wrong even after one has made perfect plans just like any other typical heist movie. Although the plot may seem too simple to some people by now, it is not the case for this film because on the contrary it takes that template and bends it by adding dramatic human desires in its bank robbers and pushing existentialism beyond limits of philosophy. In The Delinquents, apart from the persons who are actually in pursuit of Moran (Daniel Elias) and accusing Roman (Esteban Bigliardi) of stealing; procedure and order are evidently seen as two major antagonistic elements.
Just see how these lifeless bad guys work in the very first scene when Moran and his colleague slowly make their way through numerous steps that involve escorting a cart full of money into a bank’s safe. Soon after being ordered to watch out, Moran one of our main characters (the other will be introduced later), ever so slowly turns his head towards looking at what numbers his buddy types in for the entry code. In a different scene with another character talking to him some few minutes later during that same day’s shift asking if he could put today’s receipts into the safe but alone before he attains all his duties on the counter, Moran does so however not without picking up a backpack from under his desk.
He leaves having memorized a set sequence, taking an amount that would have enabled him retire had he not been noticed by his former employer. This brief episode moves fast making audience hold their breath and everything about its swiftness enhances desperation which accompanies personal dreams of Moran.
Roman shows himself to be more deceptive than appearances might suggest when asks for an hour or two off early on this same day (before Moran has taken any money) claiming that this is necessary since he is going for an appointment with a doctor who will remove his neck brace. He walks up to Moran in the street that night, which indicates that all the events of that afternoon had been carefully planned.
During dinner together, he manages to persuade Roman into being a deeper accomplice and hiding the money for him throughout three and half years while he is in jail for this same amount of time. In return, Moran tells Roman that he will provide him with more than they agreed on initially because according to him three and a half years are better than wasting your whole life away at some dumb bank.
Rodrigo Moreno uses mirrors as metaphors for temptation in this very scene (where the camera becomes increasingly focused on Moran’s reflection rather than himself), taking everything to another level entirely. This symbolic use of mirrors recurs several times in The Delinquents inviting viewers to explore characters’ inner lives and discern their desires, insecurities, disloyalties and so forth.
When loyalty is brought up, one of the ways in which this heist comedy-drama truly defines motivations is that characters are concerned with how life is spent. On arrest Moran would rather incriminate himself, serve three and a half years in prison and then spend the rest of his life living in quietness somewhere in the country side with money hidden. On the other hand, Moran’s boss (played by German De Silva) would not take a second to brag about working at the same bank for 55 years.
In between these two extremes, some long-term coworkers of our two male leads (who had nothing to do with the situation) are either fired on-the-spot for their supposed negligence or handed a drastic pay cut. Moreno’s emphasis on work, existence, and what it means to be alive through the eyes of those on different rungs of the corporate ladder makes The Delinquents a truly memorable experience when compared to robbery movies that have come out in the past.
The Delinquents opens up to other themes and subjects once these two men are apart (that is, Moran in jail serving his sentence and Roman carrying away the takings). While stashing the cash in a rural outpost far and away from city Roman finds an artistic director and his two female associates who are making a day out of enjoying sunbathing as well as swimming at nearby lake. He falls deeply for Norma played by Margarita Molfino and we can tell that he has been mentally beaten down no more by his friend’s task. She is like passing wind without being burdened by social pressures; Molfino plays this role perfectly.
Over this part number two of The Delinquents what seems to replace what money was going to do for Roman is this newly found route of emotional abundance as well as intimate love. Although he has indeed set up a life for himself back in town with an apartment and live-in girlfriend, he is temporarily lured by her dreamy quality and no longer bound by the structures of a nine-to-five city life. This is an antidote that most of us wish to find equally and easily at some point of our lives: watching this ex-soul-dead bank teller come alive again through this vaguely familiar girl’s vigor. Bigliardi’s emotional shift and altered performance is a sight to behold and really pulls viewers in, making us root for him.
While Moran, especially Roman are well-developed characters, some supporting turn out more abstract than literal. Examples of these includes the Brazilian gang leader whom Moran meets while in prison, as well as the aforementioned filmmaker that Roman meets while traversing the mountains to hide the money, Ramon (played by Javier Zoro).
Ramon just does not bring anything explicit to the story; being a director who seems to favor nature over all else. His conversations appear forgettable and even his physical looks do not strike one as anything special. However he has somewhat of a team leader-like presence. Without him around, there would be no reason for those two sisters to sit there on that creek bed either. He single handedly leads them with his provocative mannerisms coupled with inspirational ways in which he holds camera on nature itself.
For the gang leader that Moran meets in prison, one of the most intimidating and violent bullies has some incongruous dialogue that just doesn’t seem fitting (at one point he references the negative effects of social media and cell phones). Yet these two roles have a purpose in a film based on existentialism, but these particular characters are weakly embodied.
Beginning of the film both Morris and Roman do not seem to care about being at where they are as well as belonging to who they are. Satisfaction is never achieved by counting stacks of documented transactions or viewing customer invoices. However, once each of them experienced a ride with passion and despair in their own different ways (they ended up taking different routes after all), did both Moran and Roman get time for breath. The fortune from the bank job is secondary. Rather; they receive genuine satisfaction and warmth through alluring nature scenes presented by this team of filmmakers…. Instead camping on a cliffside, riding horseback through valleys & singing at whim would replace the bank’s mahogany coloured corners still doing so.
The Delinquents is a film about people who share same hopes. Though you may not be able to accomplish your dream because of grim facts about life in our planet, it will help you feel what happens when you realize that ambition too strongly.
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