Mundo Grúa (Crane World)
Argentina, 1999, 90 minutes, directed by Pablo Trapero

A new variant Neo-realism, Trapero's multiple award-winning feature debut paints a portrait of working class life that is simultaneously gritty and poetic. The film follows the changing fortunes in the life of Rulo, an unemployed suburban man, who tries to earn a living as a crane operator. Rulo is a likeable, pot-bellied 50 year-old who had a brief taste of success as a young rock musician. Now, with both an elderly mother and a musician son to support, Rulo plunges into a hazardous and arduous work of heavy metal construction. Directed with an unusual combination of aesthetic freshness and emotional soundness Trapero's first film became a key work in the current resurgence of the Argentine cinema.

"Crane World offers a bedrock vision of humanity making do" – Stephen Holden, New York Times

"It's remarkable for the tenderness and tenacity it shares with its memorable protagonist." – Amy Taubin, Village Voice

"The pic is made up of small events and incidents, well observed and naturalistically performed." – David Stratton, Variety

"Trapero is able to reach his characters with an outstanding sensitivity… Mundo Grúa is a film that doesn't require the past in order to explain the present that is revealed through the forcefulness of its images, which speak by themselves" – Gustavo J. Castagna, El Amante

FIPRESCI Prize and Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival 2000.
Cult Network Italia' Prize and Anicaflash Prize Awards at the Venice Film Festival 1999.
Special Jury Prize Award at the Havana Film Festival 1999.
Silver Condor Award at the Argentinian Film Critics Association Awards 2000.
Best Actor, Best Director and OCIC Special Awards at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 1999

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