Familia Rodante

The opening close-ups of gabbling caged birds prove all too apt here: charting an extended family’s cross-country odyssey to a distant relative’s wedding, Pablo Trapero’s road movie-cum-domestic saga can feel a bit like being trapped in a cramped, sweaty trailer with an exotic menagerie. Under Grandma’s matriarchal eye, various siblings and their partners squabble, flirt and bond while the grandkids range from rock chick romantic refugee to horny adolescent to junior dog-lover. Keeping track of the myriad (somewhat soapy) plotlines is a challenge but Trapero is adept at realising moments of simmering irritation or sexual tension and, despite the often confined quarters, keeps his shots mobile and filled with colour.