The opening shot is a film’s calling card, an image of introduction. Writer-director Benjamín Naishtat’s Rojo doubles down by kicking things off with a pair of tempting curtain-lifers. A steady drip of looters emerges from a good-sized home in an Argentinian Province. The pending coup won’t be made official until the last scene in the picture. For now, all the viewer needs to know about the political climate is established in this silent two-minute launching shot. Opener number two: a diner's long wait to be seated results in the first of two tensely staged stand-offs, both of which play against audience expectations. Three months later finds Chilean TV’s #1 celebrity crime solver, Det. Sinclair (Alfredo Castro), brought in at great expense to find the killer. In a burst of satirical pomp, the master detective unwittingly confided to the criminal that he didn’t have a clue as to who the murderer was or where the body was buried.You doesn’t have to be a walking textbook on the 1976 coup to follow the story, but in this case, a working knowledge of the era might help. If all else fails, do as I did and enjoy it as a comedy thriller. (2018) — Scott Marks
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