The Ardor: a curious mix, Pablo Fendrik is, for all practical purposes, a Western set in the Argentinean jungle; it tells the story of a mysterious man who arrives in a distant and small farm to defend it against bandits who are forcing the owner to sell the land. The film incorporates some shamanic mysticism, and certain story points don’t withstand a closer look, but the climactic setpiece is quite solid. Gael García Bernal plays the quiet and mysterious man with a good dose of inner strength, and Alice Braga is solid as the farmer’s daughter (despite her iffy accent); Claudio Tolcachir plays the cruel villain very well, who would be very much at home in a Texan desert. The camera work of cinematographer Julián Apezteguia is excellent; his handling of low-light scenes is superb. The musical score, by composer Sebastián Escofet, is quite good and a decent homage to Western scores.