Based on two stories by Cornell Woolrich, No abras nunca esa puerta is like an American film noir transplanted to Argentina. Featuring all the tropes of the genre from out-of-luck heroes to femme fatales to big bad gangsters, this is a fun little gem that packs a lot of style and suspense into two forty-five minute stories. The first is about a man whose sister has racked up gambling debts, and the second is about a mother whose son returns home after eight years, but turns out to be on the lam. Carlos Hugo Christensen brings an assured hand to the direction of these tales, and has firm grasp of the elements of film noir. At times it is shocking to remember that this is an Argentine film, because the settings and atmosphere are exactly what you would see in a film by Huston or Lang. A scene in the first story in which the protagonist visits the house of a racketeering boss evokes a similar sequence from Lang's The Big Heat, even though this film came first. But what is most impressive is not Christensen's ability to mimic his American contemporaries, but rather his sense of pacing and montage. In the second story, there is a scene where the blind mother must retrieve the guns belonging to her son and his partner-in-crime without waking them up. In this sequence, Christensen's construction is deliberate and assured, slowly tightening the screws through a use of medium length takes, quick cuts, and shadowplay. The stories themselves are really nothing all that special, and it is really the direction that elevates No abras nunca esa puerta to the status of a minor masterpiece. Fans of film noir will especially want to check this one out.
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