When the police are not on your side and seem to protect criminals more than help keep your property and family safe, is it okay to take action? 4X4 blurs the line between demanding justice from the authorities and enforcing it at one’s own hand.

In 4X4, Ciro (Peter Lanzani), a thief breaks into a car to steal its digital console when suddenly he’s locked inside the car— all doors and accesses are sealed, and the windows are stronger than steel. 24 hours later, after reconnecting the console to the dashboard, the thief receives a call from the car owner with the most ridiculous last name, Enrique Ferrari (Dady Brieva). As introductions are made, the owner reveals his intentions to the thief: he wants to teach him a lesson for acting illegally. Can’t the cops do that instead? When the cops are less effective than the lawful system it represents, the answer is no. The thief, not knowing better than what his family put him up for, will try to find a way to escape before his survival skills become useless inside a limited space without food or water.

It’s a very well structured movie — it has all the basic elements that over-develop the story to the point that the plot speeds slower than a car in a school district. Although the plot is quite simple to explain, what is important here is the way that social messages stand out in convergence with current news from the Argentine society. It is so wrapped up in its messages that it took care of even the smallest detail like the music played inside the car to the billboards displayed and graffiti painted on the walls. The use of small spaces also helps to convey the claustrophobia felt by the character of Ciro; the car appeared to be spacious inside but was narrowed down by the alley-like street used as a main location.

At first I thought it would be a film without a dialogue, which made me think the crew made a good decision since frustration can be expressed by noises, faces and gestures. However, after 15 minutes the actors began to pronounce their lines. I must admit that this did not make the film lose its charm but it would’ve been fascinating to develop it with a script based only on actions to share, even a little, the thief’s feeling stress.

It’s a good movie but it has details that don’t let me to give it a perfect rating. The story unfolds with few actions and still lasts around 90 minutes of which 30 are pure filling— the kind that doesn’t sweeten a cake. The subliminal messages are excellent, but the analogies used for moral purposes don’t shine next to them.

In a world where society is tired of demanding and prefers to take to the streets to make it known that they will not remain silent and act to protect their rights, 4X4 circulates at the right time to make some viewers uncomfortable while they question who they’re rooting for and show that insecurity is present in all sides regardless of social status.

8 OUT OF 10 WATER BOTTLES