"With the Days Numbered" or ¨Dias Contados¨ or ¨Running out of time¨ is a thrilling movie filled with intrigue , drama , turns and sexual situations . A raw punchy love story set set against the background of terrorism . This is an intense thriller unflinchingly directed by Imanol Uribe . A womanizer and sex-addict man named Antonio (Carmelo Gomez) belongs to commando Madrid (also formed by Elvira Minguez and Joseba Apaolaza) from the terrorist organization Eta which is preparing a massacre in the capital. Antonio is posing as a photographer but he sets other priorities when he meets a druggie young named Charo (Ruth Gabriel) who is addicted to dope and for whom he falls in love . Later on , Antonio meets up the friends's Charo as the prostitute Vanesa (Candela Peña) , the local junkie Lisardo (Javier Bardem) and Ugarte (Pepon Nieto) . Meanwhile , the terrorist group carries out various attacks until the final outrage .
Moving thriller plenty of emotion , suspense , intrigue , delusions , plot twists , nudism and a strange love story . Despite being somewhat of a cinematic cliché, rarely has a feature been so aptly deserving of its description as a thriller picture along with some elements from Noir film , action , politics and bloody terrorism . Good acting by Carmelo Gomez as a killer member of the ETA terrorist organization who feels a strong attraction for a junkie well played by Ruth Gabriel . It is an entertaining picture in which suspense is well developed from start to finish , though crammed with abundant erotic scenes -in softcore style- between Carmelo Gomez and Ruth Gabriel who holds several nude scenes . Imanol Uribe , also writes the script along with Juan Madrid , based on his novel , filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . Hard-edge thriller/drama centers around terrorist conflicts and a peculiar love story . However , the film relies heavily in the rare romance among protagonists and on a motley group of displeasent characters , as there appear terrorists , whores , junkies , panderers , peddlers , drug dealers and nasty policemen . Because the story needs a vibration more real than the one offered in this sometimes slow-moving flick , though also contains interesting scenes , thrilling images and sensitive moments . Anyway, its is compensated with the great performances from main cast , and nice support cast , interpreters who provided a considerable boost to the result . Imanol is a great director of actors and the main players are complemented by a good cast of secondaries ; all of them forming a powerful human group and giving excellent interpretations such as Karra Elejalde , Candela Peña , Elvira Minguez , Pepon Nieto and special appearance by Javier Bardem . Atmospheric musical score by Jose Nieto who composes a stirring soundtrack by means of synthesizer . Including a spotless pictorial cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space ; being rightly filmed in Madrid . Aguirresarobe subsequently would make a prestigious career in Hollywood such as ¨Fright night , ¨The twilight saga: eclipse¨, ¨The road¨ , ¨The others¨ and many others . The movie achieved 27 wins and 16 nominations ; being nominated and winning several Goya Awards 1995 such as Best Film , Best Director Imanol Uribe , Best Actor Carmelo Gómez , Best Supporting Actor Javier Bardem , Best New Actress Ruth Gabriel ,Best Adapted Screenplay Imanol Uribe , Best Editing Teresa Font ,Best Make-Up and Hairstyles , Best Special Effects Reyes Abades , among others .
This Andres Santana production was professionally written , produced by Imanol Uribe who also directed , though has some flaws and resulted to get big success at Spanish Box office . Uribe who lived and had a son with actress María Barranco , gained fame early in his career for his controversial socio-political portraits of the Basque people , such as ¨Fuga Segovia¨, ¨Muerte Mikel¨ and he turned to thriller as ¨Adios Pequeña¨, , ¨Plenilunio¨ , ¨Carta Esferica¨ , ¨Dias Contados¨ or ¨Running out of time¨and drama as ¨Bwana¨ , ¨Rey Pasmado¨ and ¨Extraños¨ .
