{{Infobox film | name = Lock Charmer | image = Lock Charmer poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Sundance film poster | director = Natalia Smirnoff | producer = Juan Pablo Miller | writer = Natalia Smirnoff | starring = Esteban Lamothe<br>Érica Rivas<br>Yosiria Huaripata<br>Sergio Boris | music = Alejandro Franov | cinematography = Guillermo Nieto | editing = Delfina Castagnino | studio = Memento Films | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2014|01|21|Sundance Film Festival}} | runtime = 77 minutes | country = Argentina | language = Spanish }} '''''Lock Charmer''''' (Spanish: ''El cerrajero'') is a 2014 Argentine drama film written and directed by Natalia Smirnoff.<ref>{{cite web |title=LatinoBuzz: Natalia Smirnoff Director of 'Lock Charmer' On Premiering Her Film at Sundance 2014|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/latinobuzz-natalia-smirnoff-director-of-lock-charmer-on-premiering-her-film-at-sundance-2014|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sundance 2014: Meet Natalia Smirnoff, Argentine Director of 'Lock Charmer' and Lover of 'The Avengers'|url=http://www.remezcla.com/2014/latin/sundance-2014-meet-natalia-smirnoff-argentine-director-of-lock-charmer-and-lover-of-the-avengers/|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Natalia Smirnoff, Lock Charmer|url=http://www.screendaily.com/features/natalia-smirnoff-lock-charmer/5065084.article|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref> The film premiered in-competition in the ''World Cinema Dramatic Competition'' at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sundance 2014: World Cinema Dramatic Competition|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-2014-world-cinema-dramatic-competition|access-date=January 18, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lock Charmer (El cerrajero) - Director Natalia Smirnoff|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/83022-lock-charmer-el-cerrajero-director-natalia-smirnoff/#.U11H3FWSykc|access-date=January 18, 2014}}</ref>
The film later premiered at the 2014 Fribourg International Film Festival on March 29, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lock Charmer - El Cerrajero|url=http://www.fiff.ch/programme-2014/films/competition-internationale-longs-metrages/lock-charmer-el-cerrajero.html|access-date=April 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427235126/http://www.fiff.ch/programme-2014/films/competition-internationale-longs-metrages/lock-charmer-el-cerrajero.html|archive-date=April 27, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=28e FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE FILMS DE FRIBOURG 2014 - March 29 - April 5, 2014|url=http://www.gep.de/interfilm/englisch/interfilm3850_28520.htm|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref>
==Plot== Thirty-three-year-old locksmith, Sebastian doesn't believe in committed relationships. He learns from his recent girlfriend, Monica, that she's pregnant but she isn't sure that he is the father. During the same time, he discovers that whenever he fixes someones locks, he gets a vision into their lives, which reveals their feelings. Soon this power starts to complicate his life. After he warns a maid named Daisy that her boyfriend is stealing from her boss, she leaves her boyfriend, and Sebastian takes her in. But when he sees a vision about his own life, Sebastian is forced to examine every aspect of his life.
==Cast== *Esteban Lamothe as Sebastian *Érica Rivas as Monica *Yosiria Huaripata as Daisy *Sergio Boris as Sebastian's father *Arturo Goetz *María Onetto *Luis Ziembrowski *Germán de Silva *Nahuel Mutti *Claudia Cantero
==Reception== ''Lock Charmer'' received positive reviews upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Geoff Berkshire of ''Variety'', said in his review that "Natalia Smirnoff's second feature is a wisp of melancholy comedy with a dose of magical realism."<ref>{{cite web |title=Film Review: 'Lock Charmer'|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-lock-charmer-1201090604/|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref> Boyd van Hoeij in his review for ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called the film "A modest but quite charming feature about an Argentinean locksmith who unlocks truths about the lives of his clients."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lock Charmer (El cerrajero): Sundance Review|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/lock-charmer-el-cerrajero-sundance-676279|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref> Eric Kohn from ''Indiewire'' praised the film by saying that "Measured and never indulgent in its depiction of the plot's mystical ingredients, “Lock Charmer” does a great job at blending two genres and placing them in the strangeness of the 2008 setting" and praised the performances of Lamothe and Huaripata that "Lamothe portrays the locksmith as a man at once perturbed by the behavior of the women in his life and resentful towards his male role model — namely, his estranged father. The natural chemistry between him and Huaripata, as Daisy, matches the efficiency of the movie's direction."<ref>{{cite web |title=Sundance Review: 'Lock Charmer' Wonderfully Explores the Magic of Being Honest|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-the-lock-charmer-wonderfully-explores-the-magic-of-being-honest|access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref>
==Accolades== {{Anchor|Awards}} {| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;" |- ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Recipient ! Result |- | 2014 | Sundance Film Festival | World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic | Natalia Smirnoff | {{nom}} |- | 2014 | Fribourg International Film Festival | Grand Prix | Natalia Smirnoff | {{nom}} |}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|3460184|Lock Charmer}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|el_cerrajero|Lock Charmer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lock Charmer}} Category:2014 films Category:Argentine drama films Category:2014 drama films Category:2014 Argentine films Category:2014 Spanish-language films Category:Spanish-language drama films