Marshland

Gripping and stirring picture , in which there's a fine line between genre conventions and outright clichés . The Spanish deep South, 1980 , in the Marshland a serial killer is on the loose . A series of brutal murders of adolescent girls in a remote and forgotten location bring together a pair of different Police Inspectors Juan (Javier Gutiérrez) and Pedro (Raúl Arévalo) . Two homicide policemen who appear to be poles apart must settle their differences and bring the murderer to justice before more young women lose their lives . With deep divisions in their ideology , these detectives must put aside their differences if they are to successfully hunt down a murderer

Formula thriller filled with gritty action , crisply edition , tension , suspenseful and lots of violence . This serious and truly original film with groundbreaking narrative results to be a fantastically intriguing story of murders , being very well done , swiftly paced and including a twisted screenplay . Interesting theme about a couple of cops who carry out their objectives by whatever means , including violence , slipping outside the bounds of the law through their use of force , coercion , lies and half-truths ; however this issue has been previously treated in many other films , especially American ones . As its story can remember the great American series "True Detective" , because they have similar situations with a misfit pair of cops and two parallel outdoors : American Southern Mississippi against the background of the Spanish south such as Andalucia and its Guadalquivir marshes . It has emotional or aesthetic resonance , even comforting in some ways , and partly because is just more attuned to nuanced variations on what might appear to be mere formula . The plot is simple but plenty of thrills and surprises , as two detectives to track down a killer who for years has terrorized a community in the shadow of a general disregard for women rooted in a misogynistic past . This intelligently made picture relies heavily on the complicated relationship between two disparate characters , both detectives in the homicide division to investigate the grisly killings cases . This moving motion picture contains stylistic boldness and energy , its evocation of a particular time and place , Spain of 30+ years ago , adding impressive images corresponding to various marshes of Andalucia , such as the ones of Coto Doñana and the Salinas De San Fernando in Cádiz . Very good acting from Javier Gutiérrez as a tough , arrogant cop abusing the suspects' civil rights and Raul Arevalo as an upright Inspector who displays his disturbing look to everybody . Support cast is pretty good such as Antonio De la Torre , Nerea Barros and Jesus Castro , ¨El Niño¨ .

Thrilling as well as evocative musical score by Julio De Rosa . Colorful as well as dark cinematography by award-winning Alex Catalan . Aerial photographs at the beginning of the film and others that you can see over it like a guided tour were digitalized from photographs . Being wonderfully shot on location in Coria del Río, Las Cabezas De San Juan , Seville , Andalucía . Some frames of the film are based on photographs of Atín Aya and Héctor Garrido , whose works impressed the filmmakers when they knew his work in a retrospective exhibition . This multi-prized film won several awards such as : Goyas , Feroz Awards, Cinema Writers Circle Awards , Fotogramas de Plata , Gaudí Awards ,José María Forqué Awards , San Sebastián International Film Festival and Spanish Actors Unión . The latest from the director of ¨7 Virgins¨ , ¨El Traje¨ , ¨Factor Pilgrim¨ , ¨Grupo 7¨ or ¨Unit 7¨ was masterfully directed by Alberto Rodríguez . To an outsider, someone who's not a fan of a particular genre , anything that looks somewhat familiar can be grounds for dialing the cliché police , but I think results to be an entertaining film with several scenes that'll have you on the edge of your seat . Rating : Above average , well worth watching , a real masterpiece .

The time is the early eighties. Two detectives, a good-cop (Pedro) bad-cop (Juan) pairing, are sent to a remote region in Spain to investigate the disappearance of teenage sisters. They uncover a series of brutal murders that the tight-knit community may be complicit in. Set in a Spain slowly emerging from Franco's shadow, Marshland has a wonderfully political noir-ish tone. Opening with birds-eye shots of an other-worldy landscape, that the camera often returns to, the futility and inhumanity of the toils that take place on the ground is constantly invoked by the judicious shot choice. Pedro and Juan have personal concerns beyond the investigation. Pedro's wife is pregnant and not always trusting of him in their separation. Juan has failing health and may not be long for this world. They bring their past as well as their present: Juan was in Franco's Gestapo and may have carried out atrocities, Pedro is being punished for open criticism of the military. They deal with these issues as best they can while navigating local resistance to their investigation and their own wary sense of each other. The characters, setting, tone and pace are all compelling, and the overhead shots add wonder and mystery. There are hints of Mississippi Burning here, and also True Detective and Chinatown - a local oligarch seems amoral and ultimately goes unpunished. But the film wears these influences lightly and portrays its own authentic, self-contained world. This is a stylish thriller that comfortably meshes plot, politics and personal concerns.

What a satisfying movie this was. I love hardcore crimers and this is a great example of its genre. It shows just how corrupted the authorities really were in the 1980's rural Spain without losing touch with its relatively complex plot.

The setup is familiar; two city detectives investigate a series of killings in provincial Spain. I wouldn't know where exactly this area is, but I'm guessing it's the marshlands in Andalucia (my bad if I missed any other detail, I was excited to see the movie so I might have overlooked something). Anyway, it all gets very much complicated as the investigation moves forward and more people are implicated in the case. I'm not going to spoil anything, but be warned that this is not just your usual straightforward murder mystery, as it is also a detailed look into a country shaken by political instability and corruption within the authorities. That said, there are some obvious similarities with other crime-thrillers like Memories of Murder or Red Riding (which I both heartily recommend), or TV shows like True Detective (although I'm not sure about this since I haven't started following TD yet).

The acting is more than solid, especially good are the two main leads. Pedro's character was more likable than Juan's, partially because he despises Franco's regime and its legacy, while Juan didn't seem to care much about that. His share of problems stems from some ugly acts in the past and that is reflected in his often violent work methods. Yet, there is no denying both actors did a splendid job and had no problem dealing with their roles' demands. An interesting bit are a couple of symbol-heavy scenes that include Juan and a bird seemingly staring at each other; one might ramble that the bird represents a new era for the country, a fresh beginning if you like (as it can fly away anytime it wants), while Juan is a man tormented by a violent past he can't escape.

But what I really delighted in was the exceptional cinematography. The movie looks fantastic and every detail is captured in beautifully placed shots. The marshlands are bathed in vivid colors, especially during the sunset. Camera-work is top-notch; I guess mr. Catalan really knows what he is doing. Thankfully, he was also rewarded for his work.

In short, this is a dark, expertly paced thriller that remains ambiguous even after the satisfying conclusion. Definitely recommended if you're into movies like this.

The difference between a good crime thriller and an average one, is often the setting. In the case of 'La Isla Minima', the surroundings are as important as the plot. The story takes place in a remote part of Spain, an area of treeless plains, lonely marshlands and wide rivers. The inhabitants of the isolated villages are suspicious of outsiders. In this hostile environment, two policemen try to solve the murder of two teenage sisters. Slowly but determinedly, they gather clues and try to squeeze information out of the uncooperative villagers.

Apart from the scenery, the film is also interesting because of the political situation underpinning the story. The film takes place in 1980, when Spain is in the process of becoming a democracy after being ruled for decades by the dictator Franco. One of the policemen, a former officer in Franco's special forces, still holds on to the old fashioned way of using violence to get things done. The other, a much younger man who embraces the new democracy, has a very different style.

The film is beautifully shot, with some remarkable aerial footage. It's nice to see that Spanish cinema has more to offer than Almodovar.

In the vain of True Detective (2014) but with the intensity (and pretentiousness) dialled down a couple of notches. This was compulsive, engaging and entertaining throughout.

I watched with the original Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles so I can't really comment on the quality of the script because my level of understanding was at about 70-80%.

The pacing was even, there weren't any unnecessarily drawn out scenes and everybody behaved in a realistic manner. The acting from the leads was superb but some of the supporting cast were quite wooden and most of the photographs used in the film were extremely posed. Those are minor critiques though; the only thing that really irks me is that no matter how well these films are made, and no matter how sensitively the subject matter is broached, they always feel a little gratuitous, hence why they usually lose one or two points from me. I watched The Treatment (2014) a while ago and both of these films currently have roughly the same IMDb score. Clearly then, ratings are hugely affected by the emotional impact of dealing with sexual abuse and murder. La Isla Mínima was, in my opinion, markedly better than The Treatment and I hope its rating increases to reflect this.

Another reason this film was more satisfying than others in its genre is that the police behave in a realistic manner - granted this is part of the commentary on the culture in this part of the world and what police have to resort to in order to protect their own people, but it still felt satisfying from a plot perspective and as an audience member. The final confrontation was horrific and yet entirely necessary. The film needed it and this was also entirely in keeping with the characters and the message of the film. Obviously, each will take away their own views but for me, the 'very' end made me question my earlier conviction that the final confrontation was 'justified': isn't that what everyone says to justify their actions?

If you enjoy films in this genre then it's an obvious choice 8/10.