Crane World

This tale of an unemployed crane driver is a potent and moving depiction of contemporary survival. If it's specific to Argentinian society, it's also a general take on maintaining hope in the face of various forms of despair. Avoiding crude oppositions, it's a subtle and reasoned response to an unfortunately everyday occurrence, invested with real humanity. With its luminous monochrome camerawork reminiscent in places of the still photography of the great Brazilian Salgado, it's also equally committed to a truthful depiction of labour and its changing nature. It joins a select few films made recently that have successfully played personal dramas off against the huge forces of international capital and consequent social upheaval.