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Producer of Argentina’s Oscar entry “Sleepwalkers,” Juan Pablo Miller’s Buenos Aires-based Tarea Fina has unveiled “El Hijo Deseado,” the next film by Berlinale Jury Grand Prix winner Ariel Rotter.

Its announcement comes as Tarea Fina advances on post-production of “La Encomienda,” from Pablo Giorgelli, whose “Las Acacias” was awarded the Cannes Festival’s Camera d’Or for best first feature by a jury presided by “Parasite’s” Bong Joon Ho.

Both films maintain Tarea Fina’s hallmark of exacting, carefully crafted movies which break out to big festival prizes and sometimes global art house distribution.

“We always work like artisans, producing a small number of films a year so that we can care for them a lot, whether they’re first features or from established directors,” Miller told Variety during Ventana Sur where “El Hijo Deseado” looks to have been one highlight of the market’s Proyecta section.

It’s problematic when a possible franchise-launcher feels like an indifferent later entry in a series, and that is the case with “En Brazos de un Asesino” aka “In the Arms of an Assassin.” This Pantelion release has the requisite basic elements for undemanding escapism, with attractive leads, erotic elements and ample bullet-riddled peril. But despite being based on the first of seven (so far) interlocking pulp romantic-thrillers by J.A. Redmerski, Matias Moltrasio’s feature directorial debut isn’t splashy or assured enough to leave one wanting more, and the narrative awkwardly completes one arc and begins another after the two-thirds point.

Opening on approximately 150 U.S. screens Dec. 6, the film is certainly a viable commercial item among Spanish-speaking audiences. But let’s hope any follow-ups leave a stronger impression.

Playing a character described in publicity as “one of the world’s most handsome men,” producer/co-scenarist William Levy is the subtly named Victor Faust,...