Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” always wanted to be a gangster. In “El Angel,” wanting is beside the point. Introducing himself, Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro) explains that it was his destiny to be a thief. Luis Ortega’s 1970s-set crime feature is inspired by the real-life killer Carlos Robledo Puch, who has served more than 45 years in prison in Argentina.

The movie opens with the willowy Carlitos, whose soft features and curls eventually earn him his nickname, breaking into a house, dancing in it and then stealing a motorcycle, which he tells his mother (Cecilia Roth) was a loan from a friend. (“People are always lending you things,” she remarks.)