Nobody Knows Anybody

Spanish-made suspense/action film with horror overtones.

It's the last Holy Week of the millennium in Seville and crossword puzzle creator Simon Cardenas finds himself at the center of a religious mystery. Things just keep getting crazier and crazier for poor Simon.

I'd say this is geek suspense at its finest. Interesting use of role-playing gamers and religious conspiracy, and crossword puzzle fans like myself may look for hidden messages in the NYT Sunday puzzle for a few days. Plus, I love "who do you trust" stories and I adore the fabulous gorgeous-ness of Eduardo Noriega, so this couldn't really fail for me. I thought it was a great little flick that kept me engaged and entertained all the way through.

I hope that nobody believe this film ...it is totally unreal. People of Seville is very different like you see in the film. The same with the Semana Santa of Seville. I think that is a very bad film.

Amid the Sevilla International Exposition , ¨Expo 2000¨ , and the religious festivities of Saint Week , a corpse has appeared in the Maestranza . An aspiring novelist named Simon Cardenas (Eduardo Noriega) pays his invoices by composing crossword puzzles for the Sevilla Gazeta newspaper . Simon shares apartment with a strange young named Sapo (Jordi Molla) . Then , a cryptic recording left on his answering machine asks that he includes a certain word in a future puzzle . Meanwhile , at the Church of Salvacion is spilled gas Sarin , a nervous gas similarly to Tokio underground . Soon Simon is forced into participating in a real-life version of a computer game , a special Rol Game , on the narrow streets of Seville, the stakes being extremely high for the entire city . Later on , another corpse of a priest appears at the Church of the Cautivo . Then the prey Simon/Noriega becomes involved in an intense and increasingly deep chase by means of use of all kinds of methods of communication such as messages , internet and web cams . Simon knows a beautiful journalist (Natalia Verbeke) and both of whom investigate the rare events , as they go to Archive of Indians , get a clue and discover a fantastic enigma .

The film contains thrills , violence , nudism with some strong sexuality , mystery in a dark atmosphere , complemented with moving tension and intrigue . These elements provide the setting for this piece of action/suspense movie , giving it its own special quality and ambient . The atmosphere and perverse intrigue enhance as well as the Holy week religious procession take place . The flick caused great polemic in Spain , for the reason the explosions and bombings to spectacular processions that are considered as sacred . Interesting screenplay by the same filmmaker , Mateo Gil , based on the novel by Juan Bonilla . The film is starred by a Spanish all-star-cast as Noriega , Jordi Molla , Natalia Verbeke and Paz Vega . All of them would make subsequently a fine career as European as Hollywood , playing some international movies . Acceptable Eduardo Noriega as a young who becomes drawn into a spiraling tangle of mystery , danger and confusion . Gorgeous Paz Vega who holds a strong Andalucian accent and Natalia Verbeke who has the strong scenes of nudism . Thrilling and suspenseful soundtrack by musician/director Alejandro Amenabar usual collaborator to Mateo Gil and even appears a cameo as a boy in the bar . Colorful cinematography by Javier Salmones who shows splendidly the streets and monuments of Sevilla such as churches , Giralda , bridge of Alamillos by Calatrava , plus , the Expo 92 . The motion picture was well directed by Mateo Gil . Mateo is a notorious screenwriter , he wrote various films for Amenabar as ¨Agora¨ , ¨Mar Adentro¨ , ¨Abre Los Ojos¨ and ¨Tesis¨ . He only has directed ¨Nobody knows anybody¨ or ¨Nadie Conoce Nadie¨ and recently a Western titled ¨Blackthorn¨ . Rating : Acceptable and passable movie for its intrigue , noisy action and twists and turns .

Absolutely nothing happens in this sloooow, annoying, thrill-less thriller directed by Amenabar's usual collaborator Mateo Gil. The film, which in some way deals with the effect of boredom and the quest for thrills, actually delivers none, and seems like an exercise in boredom. The only mildly suspenseful moment is the movie's climax, which takes about 30 seconds of the whole agonizing 100-plus minutes, and is resolved too simply. The plot lacks sophistication or credibility, and while the idea is original, the way the story unfolds is arbitrary and every plot device or twist is a result of outside interference (deus-ex-machina). The hero is always passive, everything happens to him without forcing him to show any initiative or resourcefulness. If you're fans of the genre, watch "Tesis" instead.

Alejandro Amenábar is a busy boy. Not only does he write, direct and score his own films, he also finds the time to collaborate on other people's projects. He delivered script and music for this Spanish production, directed by the young Mateo Gil. Those familiar with Amenábar's own Tesis and Abre los ojos, will expect a stylish, haunting nightmare with more brains than you'd normally expect in this kind of fare. Which is exactly what he delivers. Nothing is what it seems in this cyber/internet-thriller. Friendship is obsolete, love is betrayed, playing games on the net means getting more than one bargained for. Especially strong is the sense of loss when boredom breaks down the last vestiges of whatever scruples might be left in the young psychopaths. Visually exciting with some accurately staged action sequences, Nadie conoce a nadie can hold its own against big budget Hollywood fare. Mateo Gil manages to keep this mixture of horror, mystery and romance finely balanced through a sober direction that always finds the right tone. Another name to remember.