Tarde para la ira

As in Blue Ruin. If you've seen that, you know what I mean by that. If not let me break it down. If you've seen the trailer you know what this is about. A man seeking revenge to those who have done wrong by him (his loved ones to be more truthful). And while this is down and dirty, it also is very real. It does not shy away from violence, but it does not stylize it either.

It does not cherish in it, it will not make you feel happy or excited, it just does. And this stuff is not for everyone. If you want your thriller to be more entertaining, than you should look elsewhere. If you like slow cooking and moving thrillers, that are more about character and their journey, this is the one to seek out ... it takes you places

Considering how much better contemporary Spanish thrillers can be than their Hollywood alternatives, this is already a must see. The director does a great job in his debut, building palpable tension in scene after scene, as from the moment the story begins you will feel something is wrong, until the tension finally explodes in the most unlikely place.

Apart from the authentic atmosphere, which portrays contemporary urban & rural Spain well, there are some great performances here, supported by a great script. Callejo & Ruth Diaz disappear into their characters, and my only pet peeve is with the main character, Arevalo's stand in, Antonio de la Torre. Although he is usually a great actor, here he lacks expression. Although it is obvious the character needs to be understated, there should be more subtle work then, such as facial expressions or movements, in order for the character not to come off as "boring".

The moral of the story is very gray, and there are no heroes here, which leaves you thinking about the movie far after the credits have rolled

Liked: -the tension (especially the gym scene) -unexpected humor -the "buddy comedy" part -direction -location

Disliked: -the leads performance -some of the character motivation

8.5

The human drama is powerful and poignant, as bereaved José (Antonio de la Torre) roams around a shady Madrid neighbourhood looking to avenge his wife and father. First-time director Raúl Arévalo is a good storyteller and is well helped by solid performances from de la Torre, Luis Callejo, Ruth Diaz and Manolo Solo, but the film hasn't got any moral insights or redemption to offer. It's too preoccupied with its own mission. The story is a runaway train destined to crash, and so when it crashes ... it simply crashes. The English title is The Fury of a Patient Man, which largely describes the plot.

Opening jewelry store robbery, leads to one dead, and another in a coma, and the perpetrator in police custody. He is sent to prison for eight years as a result, and our antihero, Jose, spends those years slowly plotting and planning to avenge the death in the attack, the fire of revenge burning slowly, and while simultaneously becoming detached from those around him as a result. 

We don't just see a copy of a Travis Bickle-type character here, we see more of the slow descent into violence and madness, and the circumstances which caused it. We know why, we just don't know how, exactly, his revenge will take shape.

Recommended, as it is well written and acted, but marred slightly by poor hand-held cinematography (except for an impressive car rollover after the robbery, shot from inside the vehicle in a single take) and uneven pacing.

Better than i expected. This is a good crime drama movie. Not much action, shootings, killings, this is more of a drama than anything else. But still, it's intense and gripping at times, especially during the second half. Also clever and realistic, characters are well written, actors are great. It's a serious movie, kinda bleak and sad. I empathised with those characters.

It requires your attention at first, it's not difficult to follow but it's not that easy either. Slow to start, but as i said, second half is intense, and it gets more intense as it progress. Strong ending even though it's a bit abrupt.