Nico - Meister des Spiels

For having SUCH a magnificent actor star in it, this film really failed to deliver... Very sloppy writing and directing...many scenes dont even add up... So much rediculousness as apart of the near ending... Its as if time stood still.. and they tried to cram soo many senseless obstacles into the tragectory of the work... Huge fail... For one of the VERY few times ever regarding Spanish cinema I strongly encourage people to just "pass" on this one...

The young man being completely annoying doesnt even begin to kick things off of whats wrong with this one..He's not annoying cause the actor did a great role either.. THAT would say something for the film... he's annoying cause cause hes so terribly written and done.....

I strongly encourage people to ignore this one..

This is a highly suspenseful and cerebral mystery , filled with intrigue , twists and turns . This exciting as well as as intriguing picture blends thrills , chills , and tense sequences especially in its final part , in a unexpected denouement , near the end . It deals with a higher class family formed by father , mother and two children , but nothing is what it seems like in the beginning ; as the older child who has exceptional intelligence also has an attitude that worries parents . Nico is a quirky teenager , he has a rare character , exceptional intelligence and a single obsession : chess . Carlos (Jose Coronado) and Coral (Abril Garcia) concerned upon their weird boy (David Solans) contract a child psychologist called Julio Beltran (Julio Manrique) who is moving into the disturbing world of Nico . Due to Nico obsession for chess , Beltran introduces this play within their therapy sessions and delves into the upsetting world of Nico . He will also be able to see beyond the perfect wealthy family that the boy's parents wanted to show . Because of the obsession for chess , Nico attempts to win a championship at whatever cost .

This is a thrilling film about a wealthy Spanish family whose teenage son is very troubled , they then hire a psychologist to help him , it results in disturbing scenes , chills , creepy deeds and upsetting final . Hitchcock-style psychological thriller , being surprisingly good , compellingly realized and including enjoyable musical score jammed with a sinister and mysterious atmosphere . The original as well as interesting idea is overspread throughout the movie , but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . The main cast is frankly fine . The protagonist of the film , Albert Nico, is played by actor David Solans , thanks to this role he got a nomination for Best Newcomer Awards in the Cinema Writers Circle of Spain . This is also the first work of the young actor . Nice acting by Jose Coronado as a worried father who faces off a terrible truth about his son ; Coronado is a veteran actor who has got a lot of successes such as "No Rest for the Wicked" , "The Last Days", ¨The body¨ , ¨Gal¨ , ¨El Lobo¨ and many others . Special mention to Jack Taylor as a famous chess master , he is an old actor playing from the 50s and usual in Jesus Franco films and all kind of genres . The picture belongs to sub-genre about ¨Bad children¨ whose main representation is the classic ¨Bad seed¨ , following ¨The Good Son¨ and Spanish films as ¨Island of damned¨ and recent "The Mudboy" . The film has also been nominated in several categories of the Gaudí Awards 2014 , some of them are : Best Film Editing , Best Sound , Best Director and Best Film Production filmed in Catalan . The motion picture is pretty well , although sometimes stagy and packs some turns ; however is entertaining for continuous suspense .

Colorful cinematography is finely photographed by cameraman Jordi Bransuela , being filmed on location in Tarragona , Cataluña , Spain . Suspenseful and stirring musical score by Ethan Lewis . The picture was well directed by Jesus Monllao , at his first movie . The yarn will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and Jose Coronado fans . Rating : Good , better than average . It's well worth watching and contains some really thrilling scenes and disturbing images .

This is a movie I chose to watch because it casts as protagonist one of the best contemporary European actors, Jose Coronado. Here he plays Carlos Albert a middle-aged businessman with a wife, Coralia, and two kids, Nico and Diana. Both Carlos and Coralia are worried about their son's behavior which is cold and distant while sometimes it can become violent too. So, they ask for the professional help of Julio Beltran, a psychotherapist who is struggling to make ends meet. Julio accepts the challenge and embraces Nico in order to unlock Nico's mind and soul. But soon we learn that things and people are not necessarily what they seem to be in this Spanish production, directed by Jesús Monllaó.

The plot is full of twists, with the big one waiting at the end of the film, while the performance by Coronado is excellent, as always, in a role that suits him perfectly. It is a relatively short length film and as a result, the story is tight and with no redundant scenes. Even though many will find the ending kind of predictable, I actually fell for it and I was genuinely surprised by the movie's conclusion. I think that "Son of Cain" will appeal to the -many- fans of Spanish crime fiction which have delivered some of the most exciting crime/thrillers of the recent years such as "The Invisible Guest" and "The Body" . Coincidentally, Jose Coronado is the protagonist on both those films and, in my opinion, is also the primary reason to watch "Son of Cain" .

I have some problems with the tempo of the film. It is a bit slow developing and i feel like the story is a bit too transparent and predictable. As you would expect it's all about a puzzle to solve and it comes down to a dramatic final. Depending on your experience and expectations you might find it little surprising or maybe emotional. But on the other hand the movie is well-made and has a good atmosphere so it's totally fine for a rainy day to watch. It's done professional with good direction, good actors, good music and a good script. Only the story-telling could have been a bit more subtle. Don't expect overwhelming intelligence, but an interesting story with some good moments.

With a slightly better script, this could have been a very entertaining movie. It started out fine, but then lost its pace and flaws started to appear. Many elements of the story were quite ridiculous, and for me this could have worked if it was all handled in a more unashamedly over-the-top way as for instance in "The Uninvited". Instead of being a source of entertainment I found the ridiculous elements and somewhat predictable plot twists slightly annoying. And finally, the focus on chess was a bit of a cliché.