The Moneychanger

“All the best things stink”, replies banker Humberto Brause to his wife Gudrun – and he doesn’t just mean the feudal cheese fondue on the table in front of him. In the Montevideo of the 1970s, the currency trader, who knows every trick in the book, also knows how to enjoy his life, while ever larger sums of money from ever more obscure sources are flowing through his hands. As military juntas destabilise the region, Uruguay becomes a safe haven for the wealth of rich individuals, and Humberto is the man to call. But how long will it last? And how did it get so far? And for God’s sake, why does his wife not leave him? Uruguay’s master-director Federico Veiroj allows a banker without morals to tell his story himself – for our tragicomic cinematic pleasure. (Zurich Film Festival)