Sebastian is a 22 year old handyman struggling to feed his family. Before getting paid for his most recent job his employer dies of a drug overdose. He overhears vague details of a get-rich-quick scheme the dead man was embroiled in and secretly makes off with a packet of instructions and the man’s identity. Several rough looking men and the police tail him on the way to his hastily acquired destiny. Realizing he may be stumbling into something more dangerous than he first imagined, Sebastian ignores his fears and jumps in. At a remote location guarded by thugs, Sebastian becomes a player in a deadly game of chance. He somehow keeps pace with the dozen other desperate men in spite of (or perhaps because of) his youthful naivete. 13 Tzameti has a similar theme to Intacto, but the stakes here are much more immediate and grim. In both films the players are pawns of luck despite their skills or will to survive. The atmosphere is much more explosive, the minimal sets shot in a gritty black and white that sharpens every high pressure move. It’s the kind of terrible underground world you always thought might exist, where those who escape aren’t much better off for the experience than the ones they beat out.

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