El jockey

Luis Ortega’s quirky, stylish EL JOCKEY brilliantly explores the fluidity of human identity, taking us on a startling journey through life, death and rebirth in the director’s native Buenos Aires. Once a highly regarded jockey, Remo is no longer to be relied on, preferring drugs to racing. Not even his beautiful colleague Abril, who is also carrying his child, can curb his self-destructiveness. Moreover, he has a huge debt with Sirena, the boss of a gambling mob. Winning the city’s most important race could get Remo out of this mess, but he ends up just crashing his magnificent steed into a fence instead. Waking up in the hospital, he suddenly feels detached and freed from himself. With a large bandage wrapped around his head like a turban, he puts on a woman’s fur coat and starts drifting through the city. While Sirena’s men hunt down Remo, now Dolores, the jockey takes on several different identities, ultimately undergoing a wondrous transformation. The film’s fast-paced editing, Timo Salminen’s masterful high-contrast lighting, a mesmerising score and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart’s effortlessly intense lead performance all come together to create an unforgettable cinematic experience. (Maria Giovanna Vagenas) 

In the presence of Nahuel Perez Biscayart.

Luis Ortega: BLACK BOX (2002), MONOBLOC (2005), LULU (2014), EL ÁNGEL (2018)