Marshland (2014)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Fantastic!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Stunning landscapes, and dark secrets, combines into a chilling story, with believable roles. A taste of true detective, not only in the imagery, but also in the two policemen and their haunting demons, and the brutal horrid murders. -And do not fear.. When i say "True detective", i mean No 1

In a time when it seems every film that released is over hyped and thus a disappointment, it is heartening when you see a film that is every bit as good as you had hoped. Marshland is is one of those films.Most reviews here praise the photography, suspense and story line which are at times mesmeric but I also liked the setting and the feel of the film as well as the humble characterisations. I have also watched a little of True Detective which other reviewers have mentioned, there is simply no comparison as Marshland is a far better project. I am sure this will become a classic.It is disappointing that only one poor and misguided reviewer here has lowered the films rating.

Marshland is a beautiful thriller set in Andalucía, Spain. There is a fantastic dynamic between the two leading men, Juan and Pedro, played by Javier Gutiérrez and Raúl Arévalo respectively. But the main credit needs to go to Alex Catalán and Alberto Rodríguez for the fantastic cinematography and direction. The aerial shots in particular are truly stunning.The Franco legacy very much lingers throughout the film and this adds to the lingering tension and suspense that remains constant throughout. The story is a straightforward one but the look of the film will stay long in the memory.

This is one of those rare but fantastic thrillers where the locations and weather conditions form an equally important – if not even more important – protagonist as the leading actors/actresses. So, in fact, "La Isla Mínima" hasn't got two but three lead actors: Javier Gutiérrez, Raùl Arévalo and the mesmerizing Southern Andalusian filming location during a hot and moist summer! And there's another peculiar oddity that contributes to the unique and unsettling atmosphere of the film, namely that the events take place in the year 1980. We see quite a lot of thrillers nowadays that take place in the eighties, and usually scriptwriters do this because they want to avoid inserting new technologies like mobile phones or internet, but here it serves another and very particular purpose. The time accurately depicts a nation stuck in a vast identity crisis; Spain licking its wounds and slowly recovering from the Franco dictatorship period. Here, in a small community amidst the Andalusia marshlands, two detectives from Seville are investigating the disappearance of two teenage girls – sisters – during the annual town's carnival. The detectives are complete opposites. Pedro is young, ambitious and obeys the rules as much as possible, whereas Juan is experienced but cocky, struggling with his health and addictions and his methods to obtain information are often quite rough and unorthodox. Yes, admittedly the forced collaboration between two completely opposite police personalities is one of the biggest and most overused clichés in cinematic history, but in "La Isla Mínima" it doesn't feel derivative or annoying for even one second. Probably this is because the sober but clever script never urges you to pick a favorite or influences you to like/dislike one or the other. Both Juan and Pedro are intelligent, brave and determined police officers, albeit in their own introvert/extrovert styles. The two quickly discover that the missing (most certainly murdered) girls aren't the first victims and that there's a serial killer at large in the marshlands since a couple of years already, but then their investigation jams completely. The atmosphere and underlying suspense of "La Isla Mínima" is unfathomable! The pacing is incredibly slow, but that's perfectly fine since the Andalusian temperatures wouldn't even allow for a speedy pacing, but the tension is continuous and absorbing. This Spanish instant-classic often gets compared to the prestigious American hit-series "True Detective", which apparently is a huge compliment (I haven't seen it yet myself), but I'm confident to state that it is probably also a huge compliment for "True Detective" to get compared to "La Isla Mínima". The cinematography is often just downright phenomenal; just look at those opening sequences for instance, which are shot from a helicopter or something and make the dreamy landscapes like beautiful paintings. Make no mistake, since there are a handful of really tense sequences that bring you to the edge of your chair with suspense. What I mean to say, in fact, is that "La Isla Mínima" is a near perfect film that has almost everything.