The story is set in our days in the city of Cádiz . Manuel Bianquetti (Fred Tatien who previously appeared in the casting as Fred Adenis and he has measure at least 1.90) , a Spanish-French police inspector who carries on his shoulders a harsh personal tragedy, the treacherous rape, torture and murder of his underage daughter, has been assigned to the Cádiz precint . That drama broke his marriage and reputation , having committed unjustifiable excesses in the search for the culprit . They have sent him to Cádiz with the intention that he take a rest and stay out of trouble , but when he finds out about a case similar to that of his daughter recently perpetrated in the person of a Colombian girl residing in the city with her parents , something is stirred . As he decides to do everything on his part, against the orders of his superiors, to find the grisly murderer. At the same time, we meet a young nurse (Natalia De Molina) who lives anguished by the possibility that her husband, in prison for ill-treatment against her , will leave prison and to return the hell that happened years ago...
This is a depressing , irregular and some boring film about a police inspector called Manuel Bianquetti who is transferred from Madrid to Cádiz, and he gets involved in the investigation of a criminal case around the corpse of a young woman and while a young nurse has to face a lot of distresses , penuries , conflicts pursued by her imprisoned husband who is about to be free . Stars the unknown Fred Tatien , a very tall , hunk actor of a strong complexion, a French actor with a short filmography , he's not exactly the best choice , despite his best efforts. He does not finish conveying the complex personality of this policeman devastated by his intimate tragedy , at odds with the world by using violent means , sunk into depression not only for the loss of his teenage daughter , but also for his inability to avenge himself for not find the true killer . Co-stars the good actress Natalia de Molina who gives a nice acting as the young nurse gets in problem , her absolute dedication to the character is also worthy of applause , as a young woman who suffers terror when's about the freedom his violent husband . Other actors appearing here and there result to be the following ones : Mona Martínez , Ignacio Mateos, Gerardo de Pablos, Luisa Vides providing brief but adequate interpretations . All of them are frankly well , though the movie results to be a simple drama with plenty of loneliness , troubles and violence at times.
The picture turns out to be uneven , with shadows and lights, confirming that in Del Castillo there is , of course, a professional solvent, although it seems to us that the cinema in which he probably feels most comfortable is clearly social , like in his ¨Techo y Comida¨ or ¨Roof and food¨ (2015) , which seemed more true and heartbreakingly real than this La maniobra de la tortuga (2022) . This bitter and brooding picture was well and professionally written and directed by Juan Miguel del Castillo . This La maniobra de la tortuga (2022) is his second one , while Techo y comida (2015) resulted to be his film debut as a writer/director , he has subsequently directed TV movies and film features , as the following ones : El niño que pintaba el mar , El secreto de Belmez , La dama del cuadro , La tragedia de Biescas , El pacto de los estudiantes , el despertar del sueño andaluz , La maniobra de la Tortuga . And he's made documentary and Shorts as Rosario and Esta caja no es tonta . Maniobra de las Tortugas achieving several nomination and prizes such as : ASECAN 2023
Nominee Best Female Performance , Natalia de Molina , Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2022 Nominee Golden Biznaga Best Spanish Film Juan Miguel del Castillo ; Premios Carmen 2023 Nominee Carmen Award Best Film Áralan Films A Contracorriente Films : La Maniobra de la Tortuga Best Director Juan Miguel del Castillo , Best Lead Actress Natalia de Molina Best Supporting Actress : Mona Martínez , Best Adapted Screenplay : Juan Miguel del Castillo, Best Editing, Best Art Director, Best Production Manager , Best Makeup and Hair , among others . His best film is ¨Techo y Comida¨ that delivered a deep critique about economic crisis , corruption and vital despair , getting several prices and nominations , such as : Goya Awards 2016 Winner Goya Best Lead Actress Natalia de Molina , Nominee Goya Best New Director , Juan Miguel del Castillo , Best Original Song Daniel Quiñones For the song "Techo y comida"and ASECAN 2016 Winner Award Best Spanish Film. Rating : 5.5/10. Acceptable and passable but some dull , tiring and overlong.
