At the End of the Tunnel

At the End of the Tunnel proves that the most compelling heist films aren't always about the criminals pulling the job, but about the ordinary person caught in their crosshairs. This Argentine-Spanish thriller from director Rodrigo Grande transforms a simple premise into a gripping exercise in mounting tension, where every creak of the floorboards carries weight and every glance through a basement window feels loaded with danger.

Joaquín is a wheelchair-bound computer engineer threatened with foreclosure, haunted by memories of his wife and daughter who died in an accident years ago. Leonardo Sbaraglia inhabits this role with remarkable restraint, never playing for sympathy but instead crafting a fully realized character whose physical limitations become tactical advantages. His performance anchors the film's emotional core, particularly in his scenes with Spanish actress Clara Lago, who plays Berta, the exotic dancer renting a room in his crumbling house with her mysteriously silent daughter Betty.

The genius of Grande's direction lies in how he uses the confined space of Joaquín's basement workshop to create an atmosphere of voyeuristic dread. When Joaquín discovers that criminals are digging a tunnel under his house to rob the bank next door, the film shifts into thriller territory without abandoning its character-driven foundation. The camera work emphasizes the claustrophobic nature of Joaquín's world while simultaneously opening up moments of surprising intimacy between the unlikely housemates.

Pablo Echarri delivers a masterful performance as the villain, bringing a chilling matter-of-factness to his criminal mastermind that makes him far more unsettling than any scenery-chewing antagonist. The supporting cast, including veteran Federico Luppi as a corrupt police inspector, creates a lived-in world where everyone carries secrets and motivations run deeper than surface appearances suggest.

What elevates this film beyond standard thriller mechanics is its commitment to exploring themes of isolation, second chances, and the lengths people go to protect those they love. The revelation that Berta is connected to the criminal operation doesn't feel like a cheap plot twist but rather an organic development that deepens both characters' emotional stakes. The film earns its moments of violence and tension through careful character development, making every confrontation feel personal rather than perfunctory.

Grande demonstrates impressive control over pacing, allowing quiet character moments to breathe while ratcheting up suspense through sound design and strategic reveals. The basement setting becomes almost a character itself, with its maze of electronic equipment and hidden vantage points creating opportunities for both surveillance and surprise. The film's visual language emphasizes horizontal movement and hidden perspectives, reinforcing themes about seeing and being seen, knowing and being known.

While the film occasionally leans into familiar thriller territory, particularly in its final act, the strength of the performances and the genuine emotional investment in these characters keeps it compelling throughout. Grande's enjoyable caper film ratchets up tension even as it folds in smile-inducing plot twists. This isn't a film that revolutionizes the heist genre, but it executes its premise with enough intelligence and heart to make it genuinely engaging.

The film succeeds because it understands that the best thrillers aren't just about external dangers but internal transformations. Joaquín's journey from isolated recluse to reluctant hero feels earned, and the relationships he forms feel authentic rather than manufactured for plot convenience. In an era of increasingly elaborate heist films, "At the End of the Tunnel" reminds us that sometimes the most effective approach is simply to dig deeper into character and let tension build naturally from genuine human stakes.

Much better than expected Gripping psychological thriller from Spain.

Very unique and. Minimalism at its best.

Far greater effects than some great productions, everything is there, a super scenario and a plot that takes you more and more That one advances in this movie. If you like good suspense, look at it, it is worth it.

Not quite what I was looking for, but still I had a nice time watching it. This is an Argentine crime-thriller. Minimal cast film and entirely shot a building and its surroundings. Literally, it was always a dark atmosphere, like it all happened at night time. The opening parts were intentional as everything deliberately put together for a quick start. It was not a matter of cliché, but knowing how all these stories begin, they did not waste time for all the details. Just the glances at related stuffs revealed all the necessary details, like unmaintained backyard, crashed car, photographs et cetera, would tell the story all you wanted to know. Even though the film ran for two hours.

So you might think they filled entire film with a tight plot, but that's not what really happened. Watching a film over that long was the tricky part, because there's no significant change in the narration in the first half, everything was in the following half. This is the story of a paraplegic computer engineer who is living alone in his house, but most of his time he spends at the basement working with computers. He was not as mysterious as he looked at the first glance. You will know him well with the progression of the story. Not from the past, but moving forward, and his intentions.

It's about the time a single mother and her young daughter come asking him the room as they saw the rental signboard placed outside. It all happens suddenly where she moves in in the next few hours. As staying together, there's no proper connection was made between them, her attempts does not bring any positive. As the days go by, he discovers some gang is planning a heist in the next building. Now all his focus come into it and it's time to decide how to deal it, and once he did, his plans and its executions are what takes the centre stage in the remaining narration.

❝In the end no matter how organised your plan is, it always depends on either a girl or luck.❞

You probably would make a couple of guesses how it's all going to shape up, in particular how the finale sets up. So it is not that suspense if you think it would be. All the heist films you have seen in your life would make it easier for you to have many perspectives, whenever there comes a twist or turn. The bad part was the characters. All the film characters were clichéd. Like every weakness, strength is for a reason and those were not protected well for revealing it in the later parts. So concentrate every scene, even a small scene without ignoring. They all come into play in the crucial segment.

It was something like a well known story and character pattern, except the settings, which kind of gives a fresh look for the product. The fist one hour was too slow, no exciting developments. It's all between two groups, one was the criminal gang with a major plan in their hand and the second was a family, well, it was almost like a family in the next door. All the events happen separately, but once the contact was made in the final act, the slow drama turns a fast paced thriller.

But again, it compromises in the confrontation part. If you are going to expect a big face-off after what it all were developed in the earlier section, that's a pretty disappointment. But still it is a good film to watch once. Not a silly film on the overall, a theme like this to design takes quite a brain, though not a genius film and it was pretty neatly done. Especially the kind of audience they were aiming for, is not particular anyone, but mostly everybody.

Whatever the characters were, the cast was excellent. They all performed their parts accordingly, including that little kid. Except it was a long film, if you are okay with a simple and entertaining product, this will do fine. For those who anticipate clever twists and turns, this will fall into an average. There were lots of opportunity to improvise the screenplay, but it was in my mind that I thought it should have been like this and that who is having opinions on the film that was already made. And that's the expectation that will kill your entertainment. I'm getting used to it, so for me it was a decent film and I'll recommend it to the selected viewers.

7/10

Loved it. Unpredictable... story grasp you till the end.

Original and ingeniously basic premise full of tense images and intrigue in spite of developing only one scenario . Dealing with a paraplegic computer engineer that moves in a wheelchair . This freaky and clever film chronicles fear , desperation , paranoia of a computer expert called Joaquín (Leonardo Sbaraglia) who faces off a completely Kafkaesque situation when in his cellar starts hearing noises and voices of bank-robbers whose leader results to be a really violent murderer called Galereto (Pablo Echarri , also producer) . This is a thrilling film in which the paraplegic starring quest to find answers and solutions to vanquish some extremely violent delinquents (Walter Donado , Laura Faienza , Facundo Nahuel Giménez , Javier Godino) and subsequently planning steal the bank , creating an alternate access to the tunnel , just before them . Joaquin works repairing old computers and is threaten by foreclose , he then rents one room to Berta , a beautiful young girl (Clara Lago) , and Betty (Uma Salduende) , her six-years-old daughter . Berta lives with the drama of his autistic daughter , who two years ago stopped to talk unexpectedly . At the beginning uneasy coexistence gradually softens , turning in a friendship and a romance between them .

The picture succeeds because of the thriller , tension , as well as a superbly written script delving into the human psyche in such extreme situation and our instinctive urges for survival . As the paraplegic executes set-ups that will threaten all the plan provided by the criminal robbers , though Joaquín's scheme crashes against a couple of secrets about Berta and her daughter . The paraplegic very well performed by Leonardo Sbaraglia works utilizing his skills and talents to survive the deadly trap , as using his intelligence he attempts to avoid the robbers carry out their aims , but at the same time he is blocked emotionally by the remembers of his wife and daughter , dead after an accident time ago . Despite the claustrophobic scenarios and average budget the picture manages to be intelligent , intriguing and thrilling . The good thing about this film is that the director made it on limited scenarios , only having to do one or two sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Very fine acting by Leonardo Sbaraglia as Joaquín , a computer engineer in wheelchair trapped by the imminent foreclose of his house due to the debt with his bank . Clara Lago also shines as an exotic dancer who is really a lure sent by the chief of a little band that they are digging a long underground tunnel . And support cast is frankly excellent , such as an extremely baddie , masterfully played by Pablo Echarri , along with Walter Donado , Facundo Giménez and Javier Godino . Special mention for the veteran and very old Federico Luppi , here playing a killer Police Inspector .

Stirring and intriguing musical score fitting to tension by two great composers : Lucio Godoy and Federico Jusid . Splendid cinematography , and naturally , plenty of dark and shades by Félix Monti . The motion picture , decently produced by Gerardo Herrero and Axel Kuschevatzky , was professional and originally written and directed by Rodrigo Grande . Rodrigo was born (1974) in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina . He is a fine writer and director, known for Historias Breves 2 (1997) , Presos Del Olvido (2001), Cuestión De Principios (2009) and this Al Final Del Túnel (2016) at his best , being his fetish actor Federico Luppi who here plays a corrupt cop . Rating : Good , better than average