Kings of the City

A film with profound content. It reflects the worldwide problem of fishing law enforcement. In the face of task pressures, everyone will be opportunistic. At the same time, it also reflects the attitude of some policemen towards informants, providing them when they are useful and abandoning them when they are useless. So as the old saying goes, a family of policemen and bandits

Flash back to Seville, Spain, in the late 1980s as the city prepares to welcome millions of visitors to Expo '92, The Universal Exposition of Seville. In order to present a modern, safe image to the world, the government wisely decides to try and rid the downtown area of its rampant drug crime. "Unit 7" is created, an elite group of narcotics officers with a mandate to use whatever means necessary to wipe out drug trafficking. Just make sure it's legal and, if not, that nobody finds out.

Based on actual events, the original story was penned by Rafael Cobos and Alberto Rodriguez. Cobos developed the screenplay and Rodriguez directed. This is their third collaboration.

The four team members, Ángel (Mario Casas), Rafael (Antonio de la Torre), Mateo (Joaquín Núñez), and Miguel (José Manuel Poga), are predictably thrown together with the typical rookie vs. veteran, family man vs. womanizer dynamic that sets up what could be clichéd character arcs. The fact that they're not owes much to Cobos' taut script, to be sure, but the narrative's spark of authenticity is mainly due to the heartfelt performances and obvious on screen chemistry of the actors.

Despite its ensemble setup, the star of the film, in reality, is Mario Casas. With his adoring wife, newborn baby, and, of course, a sweet doggie at home, Ángel is the soul of Unit 7, and the story is told primarily through his eyes. He's lit like an angel in a stained glass church window and behaves like one, to boot. It's established from the start that the appropriately and not coincidentally named Ángel, as the most sympathetic character, is the one to watch.

His transformation from baby-faced naif to wannabe Clint Eastwood is what the audience expects, and Casas delivers, yet still surprises at many turns. He's a worthy protagonist in an otherwise Central Casting narc squad. Poga, Núñez, and de la Torre do an admirable job as contrasting characters and in comic relief. But without Casas, while this would be a fine project, it would lack the humanity he brings to the story.

Technical elements are superb with big budget production values. Single-point lighting is favored in the officers' homes, with soft shadows and a warm color palette bathed in amber, reflecting the safe, comfortable environment they have to look forward to at the end of the day. Stark street exteriors are cold and pushed blue, mirroring the vulnerability and harsh reality of the workplace where there's little safety and notorious drug gangs lurk around every corner.

Julio de la Rosa's incessantly pounding score perfectly matches the brutally fast-paced action. When the "drug bust theme" kicks in you know there's some major whuppin' about to go down.

Cinematographer Alex Catalán sticks to stationary tripod shots in the characters' "safe places," at home and at the police station. As the action moves outdoors and into the streets, the camera-work phases into Steadicam and hand-held. The action sequences are filled with heartstopping crane and helicopter shots, along with a copious amount of hand-held closeups, coordinated to the throbbing drug bust theme. There's a grainy grindhouse feel to these scenes which is evocative of the thrilling police dramas of the 70s. Never lost is the breathtaking landscape of the city and its beautiful surroundings, captured elegantly in Catalán's lens as a loving postcard from Seville.

This Spanish entry in an otherwise well-worn genre could have been formulaic but, with passionate performances and Cobos' smart and witty script, it remains focused and compelling. "Unit 7" is a gritty, gripping action thriller that runs on all cylinders.

Starts out like a boring action movie. But pay attention because it doesn't stay boring. Kudos to DP Alex Catalan for the chiaroscuro photography. The film actually references Caravaggio so probably Director Rodriguez is a fan too. Catalan also photographed Rodriguez's more recent Marshland, which is great. So, Unit 7 seems pretty simple, on the surface, but it's one of those movies where texture matters a lot. The characters are believable. Some say it's based on a true story but who knows? There probably was an effort to 'clean up' Sevilla before the 1992 World's Fair. Did it play out like this? As I said, who knows? But this is a well-made film.

A look at a Spanish task-force police team that seems to have an almost free hand at ridding the town of Sevilla from it's drug dealers/users.

It's like having a look over the shoulder of these cops in their professional as well as personal lives. The two main protagonists, Angel en Rafael both go through very interesting character developments that I won't reveal, but the great thing here is that nothing ever becomes predictable. Check it out, you'll see what I mean. It's all pretty gloomy but at the same time utterly fascinating. Reminded me a lot of "Tropa de Elite"

I loved it and in particular loved those colourful characters; the snitches, the whores, the dealers and the cops. Great performances all round. 7/10

I have seen this film 4 times or so in the last year, and I have to say it is excellent still. The camera work, the music score, the acting, the direction, and the various plots within the main story of detectives trying to clean up the drug traffic in Seville,Spain, make 90 something minutes of film seem like 25. Although I do think the film is a little short, maybe that is what helps make it so good.

This movie reminds me of "The French Connection" of the early 70s. The basic premise of police combating drug traffic was the same, but in that one only 1 or 2 characters were developed. In many ways I think "Grupo 7" is better as the director brings at least several interesting characters to the forefront.

"Grupo 7" is a great film to show to college level Spanish students, as the subtitles are very easy to read, and the film holds their interest very well. It is available on DVD, region 1(USA DVD players and computers).