Kiltro: A Little Something Unexpected From Chile

A trailer for Chilean production Kiltro has turned up online and let's just say that it's not what you'd expect from a Latin American film. Oh, the trailer begins predictably enough, a back alley mugging shot in that recognizably South American hand held style, but then things get all funky. You see, Kiltro is the first ever Chilean martial arts film. And it looks like a keeper.

The film is built around the talents of Marko Zaror, a Chilean stunt man an awful lot of you have seen on the big screen without being aware of it. If you, like me, marveled aloud during The Rundown - an under-rated little action film in my book - about how you didn't know The Rock could move like that, well, there's a simple explanation. He didn't. His stunt double, Mr. Marko Zaror, did. And having won a mittful of stunt awards for his work in that film Zaror returned to his native country to put his karate and tae kwon do skills to use in Kiltro.

Here's a synopsis from KungFuCinema.com:

"Zaror, a Chilean native who has trained extensively in karate and tae kwon do, plays a violent street gangster, whose life is forever changed when a powerful martial artist looking for vengeance kills his mother and kidnaps the woman he loves. This gangster journeys to a legendary martial arts master (Man Soo Yoon) and learns the honored path of the warrior. He emerges a master himself and sets out on his own mission of vengeance and to rescue his true love.

The Spanish-language Kiltro promises to offer real martial artists performing real martial arts action in a not-so-realistic story that features a stylized image of Chile inspired by such things as anime, chambara and Italian spaghetti Westerns. The film features a large cast of local martial artists and action that Zaror assures the public will deliver full contact blows and real moves where wires won't be a substitute for real skills."

Now, I'm pretty sure I see some wire assisted moves in the trailer, particularly in the reaction shots, but Zaror is undeniably talented and this has a very unique look.

Kiltro Trailer (downloadable Windows Media)