Sentimental

Four friends share a tight bond that starts to fray when a member dies and a survivor realizes the implications of that death go far beyond what anyone expected. The aftermath drags the group toward a shadowy crime network, where money and fear blur the lines between loyalty and self interest. The film follows the living as they try to understand what happened and why, while dealing with the uneasy sense that the truth keeps shifting just beyond reach. Dialogue is spare and cuts deep, letting silence carry weight. The atmosphere is cool and sober, emphasizing how ordinary lives can be pulled into dangerous schemes when trust cracks. Sentimental uses this pressure of friendship and crime to question moral responsibility.

Sergio Renán directed Sentimental, released in 1981. The project drew on work by Mario Sábato and Jorge Goldenberg, with Renán also starring opposite a strong Argentine ensemble and photography that emphasizes stark urban textures. Its production combined stage craft with film technique to heighten tension.

Critics at the time tended to note its restrained, moody approach and the way the screenplay keeps the audience at arm's length from easy answers. The film foregrounds enduring themes of loyalty, guilt, and the corrupting pull of crime, showing how a tight social circle can erode when pressure deepens and choices ripple outward.

In the landscape of Argentine cinema, Sentimental stands as a sober, character driven crime drama that mirrors a country facing political strain. It uses a minimal style to seize the moral gravity of ordinary people and shows how friendship can be tested by money, power, and fear.

Box office data for Sentimental is not readily available in public records, and the film is not widely documented outside Argentina. What is known is that Renán's project was a serious, measured thriller that appealed to a domestic audience.