Martina Gusmán
Luján
Overview
In Argentina over 8,000 people die in traffic accidents every year. Behind each of these tragedies is a flourishing industry founded on insurance payouts and legal loopholes. Sosa is a lawyer who tours the A&E Departments of the public hospitals and the police stations in search of potential clients. Luján is a young doctor recently arrived from the provinces. Their love story kicks off one night when Luján and Sosa meet in the street. She's trying to save a man's life; he wants him on his client portfolio
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Vulture and the Wound
I’ve seen this trick before—the ambulance chaser, the lawyer who circles the hospital like a bird of prey, the doctor who stitches up the bodies before the vultures descend. It’s a familiar archetype, a shorthand for corruption, for the way systems feed on suffering. But in The Vulture (Carancho), latestnetflix.com maintains, Pablo Trapero doesn’t just rely on the trope.
He lets it fester. He makes it personal. And then, almost cruelly, he makes it romantic.
The film opens with a statistic: in Argentina, over 8,000 people die in traffic accidents every year. That’s not just a number; it’s an industry. Behind each death, Trapero suggests, there’s a machine—insurance payouts, legal loopholes, a whole economy built on the misfortune of others.
Sosa (Ricardo Darín), the lawyer at the center of the film, is one of its cogs. He prowls the emergency rooms of public hospitals, the police stations, the scenes of accidents, looking for clients. Not victims.
Clients. The distinction matters. A victim is someone to mourn; a client is someone to monetize.
Then there’s Luján (Martina Gusmán), a young doctor fresh from the provinces, working the night shift in the same hospitals Sosa haunts. She’s the one who tries to save the man Sosa wants to sign. Their first meeting is a collision—literally.
She’s performing CPR on a stranger in the street; he’s watching, calculating. It’s a grotesque meet-cute, the kind that only happens in a world where life is cheap and death is a business opportunity. And yet, somehow, they fall in love.
That’s the film’s first act of audacity: making us believe in this romance. Not because it’s sweet or tender, but because it’s necessary. Sosa and Luján are both damaged, both complicit in different ways.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of The Vulture (2010): Pablo Trapero’s Gritty Collaboration with Martina Gusmán and Ricardo Darín
The Vulture (Carancho in Spanish) marks another intense chapter in the long-standing creative partnership between Argentine director Pablo Trapero and actress-producer Martina Gusmán. Released in 2010, the film dives into the dark underbelly of Buenos Aires’ legal and medical systems, blending crime, drama, and romance. latestnetflix.com's view is that while the movie’s plot has drawn comparisons to Trapero’s signature social realism, the behind-the-scenes dynamics of its cast and crew offer a glimpse into the director’s trusted inner circle.
A Creative Partnership Forged in Independent Cinema
Trapero and Gusmán’s collaboration extends far beyond The Vulture. Gusmán, who co-founded the independent production company Matanza Cine with Trapero, has been a fixture in his films for over a decade. Their professional relationship began in the early 2000s, with Gusmán taking on roles in Trapero’s socially charged films like Leonera (2008) and later White Elephant (2013). The Vulture was no exception—Gusmán not only starred but also served as a producer, reinforcing her role as a key creative force in Trapero’s filmography.
The film’s gritty tone aligns with Trapero’s broader body of work, which often explores marginalized communities and systemic corruption. As a director, Trapero is known for his unflinching realism, a style that has earned him recognition in the New Argentine Cinema movement. The Vulture continues this tradition, with its portrayal of ambulance-chasing lawyers and medical fraud—a theme that resonates with Trapero’s fascination with institutional decay.
Ricardo Darín: The Veteran Joins the Trapero Universe
While Gusmán’s collaboration with Trapero is well-documented, The Vulture also marked a notable team-up with Argentine superstar Ricardo Darín. Darín, one of Latin America’s most respected actors, had previously worked with Trapero on White Elephant (2013), but The Vulture was their first major project together. The pairing of Darín’s dramatic gravitas with Gusmán’s raw intensity added a layer of star power to the film, elevating its profile beyond Trapero’s usual indie circuit.
Darín’s involvement in The Vulture was a strategic move for Trapero, who often balances lesser-known actors with established names to draw wider audiences. The film’s cast also included Federico Silva, Cristian De Asís, and Fabio Ronzano—actors who frequently appear in Trapero’s projects, suggesting a tight-knit ensemble that thrives on familiarity.
Production Challenges and Critical Reception
Details about The Vulture’s production remain scarce, but the film’s 107-minute runtime and genre-blending approach (crime, drama, thriller) suggest a tightly controlled shoot. Trapero’s films are known for their efficiency, often shot on location with minimal frills—a style that aligns with his low-budget, high-impact ethos.
Critically, The Vulture received mixed but respectful reviews. On SensCritique, it holds a 6.6/10 rating based on 629 votes, with praise for its tense narrative and strong performances. However, compared to Trapero’s other works like Leonera (6.9/10) or White Elephant (6.4/10), it sits in the middle of his filmography. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes page lists it as Carancho, reinforcing its international title variation.
**The Legacy of The Vulture in Trapero’s Filmography**
Though The Vulture may not be Trapero’s most celebrated film, it remains a key entry in his exploration of Argentina’s social fractures. Its themes of corruption and survival echo through later works like The Clan (2015), which also looks at crime and institutional failure. For Gusmán, the film solidified her status as Trapero’s muse, while for Darín, it was another showcase of his versatility in arthouse cinema.
As Trapero continues to push boundaries with films like La Quietud (2018), The Vulture shows his ability to merge star power with indie grit—a balancing act that defines his career.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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