Azor

A complex mystery unravels within the pressure cooker of 1980 Argentina, revealing just how dark and dirty the privileged world of money really is.

When his business partner suddenly vanishes, Swiss private banker Yvan De Wiel and his wife, Inés, head to Buenos Aires, where the military dictatorship continues to ‘disappear’ Argentine citizens. There, Yvan’s efforts to win the trust – and money – of his partner’s clientele drops him into the insular, high-stakes world of the city’s glamorous uber-elite. Will he end up with blood on his hands in the process of securing their riches?

Writer/director Andreas Fontana is well versed in the decadent world he depicts in his bold feature debut, having been partly inspired by the experiences of his grandfather, who was a Swiss financier. Fabrizio Rongione (Two Days, One Night, MIFF 2014) is brilliant as Yvan, while Stéphanie Cléau matches him as his Lady Macbeth–like spouse, who has more than her husband’s client’s interests front of mind. Co-written with Mariano Llinás (La Flor, MIFF 2019), Azor is an impressive, mesmerising journey into Argentina’s heart of darkness.

“A supremely confident debut … Like the intelligent performances and the terrific art direction, the film’s design reinforces an exquisite, levelheaded decorum about to be smashed by a chillingly cruel monster.” – Variety