Los Debutantes

Out of Kurosawa by way of Tarantino, this Chilean thriller’s triple-perspective plot device gives it what little edge it possesses. Newly arrived in the big city (Santiago), two cash-strapped siblings find themselves within the orbit of a sleazy strip club where the older brother lands a job with the scary proprietor, whose main squeeze – the establishment’s hottest dancer – is about to play a surprisingly significant part in both boys’ lives. First-time writer-director Andres Weissbluth shows some assurance in playing out the story from several different angles, but his over-deliberate pacing only serves to highlight the fact that we’re on a rather unedifying journey to a somewhat predictable destination. That said, he makes the most of his meagre resources, and Antonella Rios is certainly eye-catching as the manipulative hottie at the centre of the unfolding carnage. It’s a bit rich, though, for the film to decry her exploitation by her gangster lover while relishing every chance to linger over her lithe young body, sometimes slathered in whipped cream for her dance routine, sometimes not.