The Crimes That Bind

In this understated film, Alicia, played by Cecilia Roth, the mother of Daniel, played by Benjamín Amadeo, is blinded by her unconditional love for her 35-year-old son, and unable to even consider the possibility that he could be guilty of assault, rape, stalking, and violence against women. The film begins with Alicia hosting her socialite friends in their Buenos Aires, Argentina apartment in one of the capital city's most luxurious neighborhoods, where she lives with her 70-year-old retired engineer husband, Ignacio, played by Miguel Ángel Solá, her live-in maid Gladys, played by Yanina Ávila, and Gladys's 3-year old son, Santiago (Santi), who calls Alicia Auntie. Gladys has a humble background. Her mother died when she was about three or four years old and she lived with her father, who neglected and abused her in a remote forested area. She became an unpaid servant to her father's second wife and her step-siblings until her teen years, when she escaped to Buenos Aires with the help of a neighbor, where she was hired by Alicia.