1969 , Galicia . A group of kiddies discover the secret of Noitia , a coastal little town : ¨tobacco smuggling¨ , the bunch is formed by Brinco , Fins , Malpica and Leda . All of them admire to Mariscal (Juan Diego) , the big boss , a mobster who says Latin sentences . There , ¨Law¨ is not hearing , no seeing , ¨mouth¨ is silence . Long time after , the old power has been overspread into drug trafficking . The kiddies , now grown-up are both sides of law , a good guy ,Guardia Civil called Fins (Quim Gutierrez) and bad guys , smugglers called Malpica (Zahera) , Brinco (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) and his wife Leda (Celia Freijeiro)
This thriller film packs routine plot , a little action , suspense but also contains too much dialogue . The picture is divided in two parts : the first one is the best , dealing with kiddies , their friendship and antics , here Jose Luis Cuerda proves to be an expert on children filmmaking just like ¨Tongue of butterflies¨ also written by Manuel Rivas ; the second part concerns about the grown-up boys , their confrontation and battle of wits . It's an average mix of action , intrigue , familiar drama , romance and thriller genre . Middling screenplay by Manuel Rivas based on his novel "All Is Silence" . Regular acting by protagonist trio , as Miguel Angel Silvestre ¨El Duque¨ and Celia Freijeito are wooden , Quim Gutierrez as the undercover Guardia Civil is the best . While , the veteran Juan Diego plays his usual character . Supporting cast is frankly good but wasted such as Adolfo Fernandez , Laura Ponte , Chete Lera , the same Jose Luis Cuerda as an ill chief and Teresa Hurtado , part of a trio known as 'The Hurtado sisters' . It contains an uneven plot with loving triangle , motorboat races , betrayal , pursuits , smuggling and many other things . The main problem has to face , beyond not being able to avoid falling into a little interesting intrigue , it is derived from the coldness of its staging , some slow-moving scenes and inadequate acting . Because the story needs a vibration more real than the one offered in this sometimes dull as well as sad flick , though also develops enjoyable moments as when the children are gathered and play and enjoy themselves . Anyway, it's is compensated with a gorgeous cinematography including spotless pictorial images and a willingness , almost perfect of the elements of each shot , every sequence , every space . Shot on north of Spain, where have been filmed the gorgeous landscapes , marvelously reflected on location in Betanzos, Muros ,A Coruña, Galicia, Spain . Furthermore , sensitive and appropriate musical score by Sergio Moure .
It is a little successful flick by Jose Luis Cuerda , being efficiently produced by Gerardo Herrero/Antonio Saura and resulted to get a minimum hit at Spanish Box office . Cuerda is a veteran professional , being his film debut ¨Pares and Nones¨ a typical Madrid comedy . He subsequently directed ¨El Bosque Animado¨ also with script by notorious Rafael Azcona and based on Wenceslao Fernandez Florez's novel . He followed directing failures as a drama titled ¨Viuda De Capitan Contreras¨ and more comedies as ¨La Marrana¨ and ¨Tocando Fondo¨ . His greatest success corresponds as producer , as he produced hits for Alejandro Amenabar as ¨Tesis¨ and ¨Abre Los Ojos¨, among others . His highly-acclaimed and successful movie was ¨Lengua De Mariposas¨ , it has a rating as better than average and is a beautiful and powerful film . His most personal movies were two comedies with a peculiar and surrealist sense of humor , this ¨Amanece Que no Es Poco¨ and the following titled ¨Asi en el Cielo Como en Tierra¨ but in anti-religion tendency . ¨Todo es Silencio¨ is his last and failure film .
