A Manobra da Tartaruga

I'm normally a fan of slow, detailed stories in which place and nuance do the work of moving the story forward and silence amplifies the thoughts and utterances of the characters. The problem here is that the characters are still so thinly drawn and the pacing builds only towards what seems like inevitably violence rather than organic revelation. At times it doesn't feel much more real or better realised than some Dirty Harry type tale where the furious cop stumbles and storms ever onwards, with nothing really developing his story or making him into other than a two-dimensional character. Instead of being affecting or engaging this feels, despite the twin narratives of filial loss and domestic abuse, utterly unengaging.

The story is set in our days in the city of Cádiz . Manuel Bianquetti (Fred Tatien who previously appeared in the casting as Fred Adenis and he has measure at least 1.90) , a Spanish-French police inspector who carries on his shoulders a harsh personal tragedy, the treacherous rape, torture and murder of his underage daughter, has been assigned to the Cádiz precint . That drama broke his marriage and reputation , having committed unjustifiable excesses in the search for the culprit . They have sent him to Cádiz with the intention that he take a rest and stay out of trouble , but when he finds out about a case similar to that of his daughter recently perpetrated in the person of a Colombian girl residing in the city with her parents , something is stirred . As he decides to do everything on his part, against the orders of his superiors, to find the grisly murderer. At the same time, we meet a young nurse (Natalia De Molina) who lives anguished by the possibility that her husband, in prison for ill-treatment against her , will leave prison and to return the hell that happened years ago...

This is a depressing , irregular and some boring film about a police inspector called Manuel Bianquetti who is transferred from Madrid to Cádiz, and he gets involved in the investigation of a criminal case around the corpse of a young woman and while a young nurse has to face a lot of distresses , penuries , conflicts pursued by her imprisoned husband who is about to be free . Stars the unknown Fred Tatien , a very tall , hunk actor of a strong complexion, a French actor with a short filmography , he's not exactly the best choice , despite his best efforts. He does not finish conveying the complex personality of this policeman devastated by his intimate tragedy , at odds with the world by using violent means , sunk into depression not only for the loss of his teenage daughter , but also for his inability to avenge himself for not find the true killer . Co-stars the good actress Natalia de Molina who gives a nice acting as the young nurse gets in problem , her absolute dedication to the character is also worthy of applause , as a young woman who suffers terror when's about the freedom his violent husband . Other actors appearing here and there result to be the following ones : Mona Martínez , Ignacio Mateos, Gerardo de Pablos, Luisa Vides providing brief but adequate interpretations . All of them are frankly well , though the movie results to be a simple drama with plenty of loneliness , troubles and violence at times.

The picture turns out to be uneven , with shadows and lights, confirming that in Del Castillo there is , of course, a professional solvent, although it seems to us that the cinema in which he probably feels most comfortable is clearly social , like in his ¨Techo y Comida¨ or ¨Roof and food¨ (2015) , which seemed more true and heartbreakingly real than this La maniobra de la tortuga (2022) . This bitter and brooding picture was well and professionally written and directed by Juan Miguel del Castillo . This La maniobra de la tortuga (2022) is his second one , while Techo y comida (2015) resulted to be his film debut as a writer/director , he has subsequently directed TV movies and film features , as the following ones : El niño que pintaba el mar , El secreto de Belmez , La dama del cuadro , La tragedia de Biescas , El pacto de los estudiantes , el despertar del sueño andaluz , La maniobra de la Tortuga . And he's made documentary and Shorts as Rosario and Esta caja no es tonta . Maniobra de las Tortugas achieving several nomination and prizes such as : ASECAN 2023 Nominee Best Female Performance , Natalia de Molina , Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2022 Nominee Golden Biznaga Best Spanish Film Juan Miguel del Castillo ; Premios Carmen 2023 Nominee Carmen Award Best Film Áralan Films A Contracorriente Films : La Maniobra de la Tortuga Best Director Juan Miguel del Castillo , Best Lead Actress Natalia de Molina Best Supporting Actress : Mona Martínez , Best Adapted Screenplay : Juan Miguel del Castillo, Best Editing, Best Art Director, Best Production Manager , Best Makeup and Hair , among others . His best film is ¨Techo y Comida¨ that delivered a deep critique about economic crisis , corruption and vital despair , getting several prices and nominations , such as : Goya Awards 2016 Winner Goya Best Lead Actress Natalia de Molina , Nominee Goya Best New Director , Juan Miguel del Castillo , Best Original Song Daniel Quiñones For the song "Techo y comida"and ASECAN 2016 Winner Award Best Spanish Film. Rating : 5.5/10. Acceptable and passable but some dull , tiring and overlong.