The Delinquents
Written and Directed by Rodrigo Moreno
Starring: Daniel Elías, Esteban Bigliardi, Margarita Molfino
Unrated
Runtime: 3 hours, 9 minutes
In theaters in NY on October 18; in Los Angeles October 27; at the Philadelphia Film Festival October 29; dates for additional cities forthcoming

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

Patience is the watchword for The Delinquents, writer/director Rodrigo Moreno’s polarizing 3-plus hour film that is either going to charm or annoy viewers. 

Morán (Daniel Elías) is a mild-mannered bank employee in Buenos Aires who makes a very calculated decision. He can rob $650,000, and turn himself in, spend 3½ of his 6-year sentence in prison, and when he comes out will have all the money he could have earned if he had worked 25 years at the bank. It is a clever idea, and after he takes the cash, he gives it to Román (Esteban BIgliardi), a colleague he blackmails into being a silent partner. Román can keep half the cash if he can just keep all of it while Morán is in jail. 

The Delinquents, therefore, is less about the crime, and more about how Morán and Román (their names are anagrams) wait out the three and a half years. And writer/director Rodrigo Moreno’s unhurried film plays out in a low-key style that rewards those who sink into its deliberate rhythms.  

At the bank, Del Toro (Germán De Silva) wants to keep the news of the robbery quiet, but he does initiate an investigation. Román is questioned about leaving early on the day of the crime. Meanwhile, Morán is extorted in jail for money by Garrincha (Germán De Silva in a double role). When Román unexpectedly comes to visit Morán, saying the pressure of holding the money is too much, Morán asks Román to hide the cash in a remote location.

Román does as instructed, but he courts trouble with his girlfriend, Flor (Gabriela Saidon), who is unaware of his participation in the crime. It is during his trip, that Román meets three folks who also have anagrams of his name—Norma (Margarita Molfino), her sister Morna (Cecilia Rainero), and Ramon (Javier Zoro), a filmmaker. That The Delinquents spends a good 20 minutes of its running time on Román and his new friends eating lunch by a lake, swimming, and playing a game, before Norma and Román kiss, is one of the film’s leisurely pleasures. 

The point of the film is that without having to worry about work or money, Román can have the freedom to relax and enjoy life. When he returns from his trip, Flor says she wants to separate, which allows Román to reconnect with Norma. She visits him in the city for sex. But a flashback, late in the film, shows that Morán had met—and fallen for—Norma before giving himself up. 

Moreno let the drama—the robbery, the love triangle—simmer. This can be frustrating, but his approach is more focused on the characters than the action. The film emphasizes the quotidian details such as a drolly amusing sequence, repeated twice, where one of Flor’s students—she teaches music at home—asks Román for a glass of water, and then a refill, and then another refill. Another extended scene has Ramon filming in the countryside. These episodes may not contribute much to the narrative, but they amplify the film’s mood. 

The Delinquents is full of lovely little scenes to be appreciated, but after three hours the payoff may not be satisfying. However, for some, the film will continue in one’s head, and that makes it worth watching.