Madrid. When curro, the driver for a gang of thieves, is sent to jail, his wife ana (ruth diaz ) works as a bartender to put food on the table. Jose ( antonio de la torre) is one of her regular customers. When curro is released from prison, he can tell right off that things aren't the same with ana. They both have blazing tempers. So jose invites her to stay at his house out in the country. But they know there's going to be a showdown if curro catches up with them. Curro is always hitting someone... first ana, then jose. And it seems that jose has another reason for taking ana away from curro. Will he help jose to get ana back? So much violence. We see the video of the robbery, that also gets pretty violent. But it explains why jose is hanging around. Directed by raul arevalo. His first film direction. It's good, if you can stand all that violence. It won a bunch of film festival awards.

It won four Goya Awards, the Spanish Academy Awards, including for the best film of the year. This is the directional debut for the actor of another same award winning film 'Marshland'. It is a revenge flick, but not your typical one. Probably one of the best I have seen, because of the uniqueness. There's nothing special in the film making, its just the screenplay how everything was developed keeping viewers and their guessing game in mind. So that means it does not have breathtaking twists and turns, but being simple and delivering the crucial parts with effectively makes it a perfect on its kind.

An interesting title, all the way the film stand for it. Looks knowing synopsis before the watch is a spoiler, but it's fine, because of similarity of the basic plot with other films. The presentation and the actors made all the difference here. The pre hype did not hold back the mid or the final acts, particularly for having such kind of characters in the lead. In fact, you will be surprised for how things going to turn out with merciless. And still you might feel it to carry on.

The film opened with a failed jewelry shop robbery. Not entirely a failed attempt, only in the later parts much detail about it revealed. One of the members who went to prison returns after serving 7 years. But his girlfriend is in confusion over another man in her life. Now these two men come face to face and while the truth comes out for their real confrontation. Following, the men hunt begins with us giving out all the necessary explanation. Then it concludes by revealing who ends where and what are the tasks accomplished.

"I've got nothing to lose now. And I'll do what it takes get you to tell me."

Even the 90 minutes looks very long due to the slow narration. But its not a boring film, well, not for me. Mainly because of not wasting time proceeding in the unrequired direction. The initial developments looked like a bit drag, only because you won't get the film plot straight away. So the film takes its time, as well as give time you to hop in. Once the purpose of the story commence, the entire scenario changes. Especially in those crucial scenes where bloods are shed, and the film peaks. Because of those parts created with perfect atmosphere the film shines. Might not be morally, but entertainment wise, what the audience wants.

I was not expecting much from the film. I went for it without any interest, not even know how it faired in the domestic market and the awards it got, but in the end, I found it a better film in its kind from the recent time. What it lacked was the emotional appeal. Of course the whole focus was on the dark side of the film characters, except a little romance in the beginning. If the due was given to the sentiments, I think it would have been even better and attracted many more viewers.

The story was from one perspective. Not disclosing from the other side, except a brief visual to connect the events, is to avoid cliché. That was finely done job. Regarding the main characters, particularly the two men, you will see the changes like a flipped coin comparing them in the opening and the end. Overall a great first attempt for the director, paid off well after waiting for all these years to make it. The actors as well very impressive, I mean everybody, even the small roles. I think it better suits viewing for adults and matured teenagers. I don't know it is a remakeable product, but you should not miss this original. From runtime to performances, screen presentation and pace, it's in favour of those who are less patient in slow narration. Recommended!

7/10

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