by Benjamín Harguindey, contributing blogger
Bomba (Bomb, 2013) is a closed-space, real-time thriller mostly set within the confines of a taxi with a car bomb in it: the driver need only honk to blow himself, the car and his passenger to smithereens.
The movie follows teenage Walter (Alan Daicz), an out-of-towner who just got his graphic novel published, and has been invited to present it at the local book fair. It’s just his luck he gets to board the rigged taxi, driven by a man also named Walter (Jorge Marrale). The setback is mutual, but old Walter can’t let young Walter off the hook just like that, and on they drive in circles through urban Buenos Aires while the audience ponders where, when and why will the bomb go off.
Bomba starts as a “what if” thriller that taps into a popular, commonplace fear; then unwinds into buddy-bonding as each Walter reveals to his namesake the dark and torrid past that has led him to this very moment. The genre-shift may not be totally uncalled for – twin naming, after all, is just another way of setting up a “We’re not so different, you and I” scenario. And the movie is written and directed by Sergio Bizzio, whose screenplays have a knack for subtle character studies – XXY (2007) and Rage (Rabia, 2009) among them.
The ending combines the surprise appearance of one famous literary celebrity in the form of a deus ex machina and some nihilistic black humor. At this point the movie has jumped the proverbial shark so many times, we realize it’s not so much a plot detriment as it is part of what keeps the momentum going. It ends up being an interesting ride nonetheless.
Released in Argentina on May 9th, 2013 after competing in the 2013 BAFICI.
For more info:
Twitter @BombaPelicula
production company website: (yes, it was produced by Lucia Puenzo, daughter of the director of “Official Story”: http://puenzo.com/
Filming in Argentina: The blog of San Telmo Productions 