One-man-and-his-dog movies are typically soft-hearted affairs, so it pleases that this Argentine effort is as understated as it is sweet. It centres on Coco (Juan Villegas), a middle-aged, out-of-work mechanic who gets a new lease - or leash, if you will - of life when he's given Bombon, a game hound who proves a huge success on the exhibitors' circuit.
Carlos Sorrin's follow-up to Historias Mínimas is cut from similar cloth, combining bittersweet observations of economic hardship in the arid Patagonia region with a warm, whimsical sense of character. In fact, given the story's slight feel, it might have worked better interwoven with the earlier film's strands.
Nonetheless, this charms throughout, with striking scenery and a self-effacing central turn from Villegas (Sorrin's former car-parker). Best in show, though, is Bombon himself, a beautiful brute whose climactic (ahem) moment of triumph definitely deserves a biscuit.
