What is the cost of silence? It's a question faced by anyone who remains quiet out of fear. It's also a subject familiar to millions who lived in Argentina and said nothing as the country's armed forces killed as many as 30,000 people during the "Dirty War" from 1976 and 1983.
"Time for Revenge" explores the cost of silence but with an odd twist. In this story, saying nothing is also a way to escape a leftist past and earn a badly needed paycheck, even if it means getting along with a corrupt and dangerous company. Eventually, however, silence becomes a form of rebellion that leads to a final and disturbing act of defiance.
Federico Luppi plays an engineer with a history of trade union leadership that has made him unemployable. Details about the character's political past remain murky. All that is clear is that he wants to leave politics behind.
Using fraudulent references to hide his past, Luppi obtains a job as a demolition expert at a remote copper mine run by a large corporation headquartered in Buenos Aires. The work is risky, doubly so because the company cuts corners on safety that soon lead to two deaths.
Because of that tragedy, Luppi agrees to a plan proposed by an old coworker from his union days who has also ended up at the mine. They will stage an accident, claim the experience has left them mute, and demand a settlement that will allow them to never work again.
After the "accident", Luppi presses forward with the scheme, insisting to everybody his wife, children and friends that he can't speak. To avoid paying up, the corporation and its managers use violent trick they can, including many of those employed by the military during the "Dirty War."
Luppi is excellent as the engineer, especially considering that he stops speaking midway through the movie. Director Aldolfo Aristarain in his first film does a good job moving the story along, filling the movie with subtle touches, and showing life in very different worlds, from downtown Buenos Aires to the backwaters of Patagonia. Strongly recommended.
8/10
