This here may be the description of my favorite movie of all time (strangely being Spanish, as I don't usually like Spanish cinema this much).
Let's take it from the top. Technically, this is a marvelous movie, well-directed, edited and written. The acting is amazing, Luis Tosar, Luis Callejo and Jaime López make this once in a life-time trio (with similar characteristics to the trio from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), with three performances worth recognition world-wide (there's always talk about Portman in Leon, Bale in Empire of the Sun and Jacob Tremblay in Room, but that's because we haven't seen López's performance in Intemperie).
The cinematography is also masterfully used, reaching the level of movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, Blade Runner or La La Land (not yet with The Revenant, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or Blade Runner 2049).
Music joins the movie in beatiful ways, with Silvia Pérez making one of the best original songs of last year, that gave her the Goya for Best Original Song). Silence is also one of the elements that contributes to the greatness of this film.
Lastly, let's talk about the theme, the centre of this movie. I've seen a lot of people said that you need to talk about the context of Spain to understand the movie. I don't agree with that, the picture stands up for itself, and as most of westerns, you don't need to be into history to understand them. This movie is almost about a hunt and, therefore, the run, inside a broken society, that presents itself in the movie. The power, and the defiance of it. About loyalty, death and life. The corruption of a kid, interrupted by the kind of man that the world has always needed, to stop the madness of a more and more selfish society. This is what that movie simbolyses for me.
Overall, this movie is a nice invested time, and one of the hidden gems of modern cinema, and I'm sad it has this rating.
Anyway, I don't think I need to explain why this movie is, if not my favorite, one of my favorites of all time.
Hope you enjoy it and that this review was useful!!
Let's take it from the top. Technically, this is a marvelous movie, well-directed, edited and written. The acting is amazing, Luis Tosar, Luis Callejo and Jaime López make this once in a life-time trio (with similar characteristics to the trio from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), with three performances worth recognition world-wide (there's always talk about Portman in Leon, Bale in Empire of the Sun and Jacob Tremblay in Room, but that's because we haven't seen López's performance in Intemperie).
The cinematography is also masterfully used, reaching the level of movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, Blade Runner or La La Land (not yet with The Revenant, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or Blade Runner 2049).
Music joins the movie in beatiful ways, with Silvia Pérez making one of the best original songs of last year, that gave her the Goya for Best Original Song). Silence is also one of the elements that contributes to the greatness of this film.
Lastly, let's talk about the theme, the centre of this movie. I've seen a lot of people said that you need to talk about the context of Spain to understand the movie. I don't agree with that, the picture stands up for itself, and as most of westerns, you don't need to be into history to understand them. This movie is almost about a hunt and, therefore, the run, inside a broken society, that presents itself in the movie. The power, and the defiance of it. About loyalty, death and life. The corruption of a kid, interrupted by the kind of man that the world has always needed, to stop the madness of a more and more selfish society. This is what that movie simbolyses for me.
Overall, this movie is a nice invested time, and one of the hidden gems of modern cinema, and I'm sad it has this rating.
Anyway, I don't think I need to explain why this movie is, if not my favorite, one of my favorites of all time.
Hope you enjoy it and that this review was useful!!