Director and co-writer Alberto Rodríguez has come up with a classy crime mystery in Marshland (La isla mínima, 'Minimal Island'). The Spanish language film swept the Goya awards for 2014. It is set in the south west of Spain in 1980 as two detectives track down the brutal murderer of two sisters.
In the process they uncover the dark side of this rural community. They are an odd couple. Pedro (Raúl Arévalo) is trying to get back to work and family in Madrid and Juan (Javier Gutiérrez) has a cloud over him from his days as one of Franco's 'Gestapo'. They are just the tip of a very professional cast.
It is just five years since the Generalissimo's death. Their relationship is strained by Juan's use of vigorous interrogation methods honed during the dictatorship.
The film has a very convincing late 70s atmosphere. Rodríguez seems to have borrowed both from Chinatown and Blowup for his inspiration. Photography is a key element linking both the crimes and the investigation. In addition the cinematography captures the bleakness of the environment and the despair of the local people whose lives are dominated by poverty and unemployment. This is especially true of the young women who are desperate to escape the traditional family and social bonds.
This a an old-fashioned movie with a very modern edge. It's film noir without the wit or the femme fatale.
