Reno

Jan 24, 2016

7.0

> A fine Spanish countryside murder mystery. This is a good suspense-crime-thriller. Reminded me the Korean film 'Memories of Murder', but not the same or similar, except the crime scenario and the location. Awesome to see a detective story that takes place outside the urban area. The Spanish countryside was so beautiful, those marshlands, especially from the aerial views. I think the brilliant cinematography is the first thing anyone would notice and the 80s atmosphere. The narration was steady as the crime after the crime with tension arise, while on the other side the investigation advancing till the last minute to reveal the truth. The two cops were so good, along the murder mysteries they're working on. Beside these two men are the characters with riddles. Not only to each others, but for us as well. Not easy to predict anything, also there are some loose ends to have our own perspective regarding the story puzzle. The overall impression is its a fine mystery-crime, but still I felt that I did not enjoy entirely due to the lack of originality. Other than that I'm sure it is worth a watch. 6½/10

The plot of the actual crime is not the brightest but that's the only weak point of this movie. The directing and photography are really, really good, with an atmosphere that remembers to the latest rising of the Scandinavian crime novels. Stieg Larsson, and series like Bron/Broen (which have been later deeply inspiring US series like "True Detective") are very present in this movie. The cast is superb and gives us great performances. Arévalo and Gutiérrez, which usually perform comedy roles, are fantastic, as also are Barros and Reina. The dialogs are really good and also the several loose ends that the story leaves. To finish, the movie moves around the history of the under-dictatorship and incipient democratic Spain in an indirect way used quite often in Spanish movies. This lets the viewer the door ajar so they can be curious enough to enter and look for more information on their own, while leaving the movie in a safe spot, far from the criticism that could suffer from those in Spain still not acknowledging the darkest period of the recent history of the country.