Exploitation - that it is, but director Jorge Grau tells it in a dramatically sensible manner, slowly building up to what is unavoidable in these films - a brute finale. Still, with plenty to think (and shudder) about afterward.
The portrayal of both sides of the same coin that is society - a woman and her family and a poor family and a few befriended criminals - begins with the main characters together in the same room, a courtroom. The woman is a lawyer defending a criminal with compassion, and two misfit type guys are in the crowd making jokes amongst themselves. After her elaborate plea, the camera zooms out slowly while the judges, lawyers and audience leave the room - finally it is pretty much empty... The lawyer then drives home, followed by the duo, who waited outside for her. They steal her car when she stops to buy groceries and find out she has a chalet on a large hunting ground. They intend to rob the place, but things go horribly wrong, and that is only the beginning...
There are all kinds of sidelines going on (the innocent brother of the main criminal being innocent but is incarcerated, the son of the lawyer couple who reads comics about a masked hero and is fascinated by dad's shotgun, the lawyer who at first intends to forgive the assailant) that make this much richer and deeper than your average revenge / home invasion flick, making this a unique feat - though still you'll have to be able to stomach some pretty nasty violent actions.
A big 8 out of 10, maybe more in the future.
The portrayal of both sides of the same coin that is society - a woman and her family and a poor family and a few befriended criminals - begins with the main characters together in the same room, a courtroom. The woman is a lawyer defending a criminal with compassion, and two misfit type guys are in the crowd making jokes amongst themselves. After her elaborate plea, the camera zooms out slowly while the judges, lawyers and audience leave the room - finally it is pretty much empty... The lawyer then drives home, followed by the duo, who waited outside for her. They steal her car when she stops to buy groceries and find out she has a chalet on a large hunting ground. They intend to rob the place, but things go horribly wrong, and that is only the beginning...
There are all kinds of sidelines going on (the innocent brother of the main criminal being innocent but is incarcerated, the son of the lawyer couple who reads comics about a masked hero and is fascinated by dad's shotgun, the lawyer who at first intends to forgive the assailant) that make this much richer and deeper than your average revenge / home invasion flick, making this a unique feat - though still you'll have to be able to stomach some pretty nasty violent actions.
A big 8 out of 10, maybe more in the future.