Salas puts in a compelling performance, while De Casta flits between cocky threat and ambiguous charm with a tender touch.

Benaim has hit an ailing nerve with "Plaza Catedral," his most accomplished effort to date.

The truthfulness of the performances renders it moving and genuine, despite the inherent problematics of its focus on the poor boy primarily as an agent of change for the well-off woman.

Abner Benaim’s Plaza Catedral eschews sentimentality for the harsh realities of street violence with low-key but lofty emotional resonance.