Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest) (2016)

Director: Oriol Paulo
Writer: Oriol Paulo
DOP: Xavi Jimenez
Cast: Mario Casas, Ana Wagener, Jose Coranado
Language: Spanish

While the clock is ticking, with the aid of a witness preparation expert, a successful entrepreneur accused of murder has less than three hours to come up with an impregnable defence.

It is a whodunnit film with an unreliable narrator. The initial parts of the film where the story or crime begins are quite well set up and the film is quite playful with the expositions and has a deliberate filmy feel (reference to Femme Fatale and all that). The protagonist has too many things to hide and a lot to lose and so he is circumspect regarding the extend to which he should reveal to the lawyer. This puts the onus on the latter to challenge him and peel the layers one by one for the audience. But it started losing me by the second half as it became just too convoluted to be possible. I don't like films where every small detail matters in terms of serving the plot. That is too on the nose for me and a little too convenient.

Overall, it is a decent enough one-time watch as long as you don't think too much about it after it finishes. Style wise it is quite sleek and the performances are a bit too theatrical. John Abraham has supposedly bought the rights for its remake and I can see why.

Rating: 2.5/5

La isla mínima (Marshland) (2014)

Director: Alberto Rodriguez
Writers: Alberto Rodriguez, Rafael Cobos
DOP: Alex Catalan
Cast: Raul Arevalo, Javier Guiterrez, Nerea Barros
Language: Spanish

In the Marshland a serial killer is on the loose. Two homicide detectives who appear to be poles apart must settle their differences and bring the murderer to justice before more young women lose their lives.

Film is set in 1980 Andalusia, Spain as it is transitioning to a democracy after the end of Franco's regime. The older detective is the product of the previous regime while the younger one is from the present times with little respect for authority. The film has been compared with first season of True Detective and you can see that the comparison is not only coming because of the surreal marshy settings but also because of the dynamics between the two leads. To add to the similarities, it also ends with some loose ends not tied up together. The village in which the killings took place and the local police are a bit antagonistic towards the detectives and they are not very forthcoming in terms of divulging what they know. The film is not really about the plot or how ingenious their solving of crime is but rather about the atmosphere and mood it conveys.

It is a great watch overall with excellent performances from the two lead actors. The color tone and camera angles are such that you won't get the full glory of its cinematography on a small screen but you still can feel that it was very well done. Several of Sergio Leone's Western classics were set in Andalusia and you do get a feel of that even though the location is marshy and not a desert. It is a pretty cool watch.

Rating: 4/5