Heroic Losers

From Argentina comes this heist caper reminiscent of American feature film Ocean’s 11, which stars Ricardo Darin heading an ensemble cast of Argentine performers unrecognisable to Australian audiences.

As a financial crisis shatters the country’s economy, a corrupt counsellor steals the money of a group of up-and-coming co-operatives, hiding the stash in an underground vault. They devise a plan to retrieve what is legally theirs from watching the classic 60s Audrey Hepburn film How To Steal A Million.

Will these heroic losers remain losers or become heroic winners and outsmart the antagonist by regaining their cash? Can their dream of creating a co-operative that would employ over 50 workers and breathe life in a small town become a reality?

Captivating with surprisingly high production values that rival any quality film from the US, Heroic Losers suffers only from an excessive running time of just under two hours and cheesy comedic scenarios which felt irrelevant and failed to evoke much laughter.

The dramatic elements were well engineered and the shock death of one of the most likeable characters early in the film may draw a tear or two. As a whole, this is enjoyable viewing and should appeal to audiences who adore world cinema.

★★★