Nadie conoce a nadie

I got a deception with this one. Not because it was really a very bad film, but because something so much better could have been done here.

I arrived at it because i've been interested in Spanish cinema, and this one could strike me as something worth watching though not the best Sapin has to offer.

In comes in a line of Amenábar. Somehow closed thrillers, appealing to an inner search, resolving conflicts in abstract, living parallel worlds, parallel to a reality which is as "normal" as possible. It worked in "Abre los ojos" because of the dreamworld vs hell duality. Here the mixture is between various "strange" or "not normal" worlds:

• the always fascinating period of religious ceremonies in Spanish Andalucía.

• the "game" world, invented by Mollà's character, through which Simón (Noriega) will get at his inner struggle.

• Noriega, again playing his "abre los ojos" character, safe choice by the production, no risk

This is a failure, due to several aspects: one related to direction, which has to do with not being able to "hold" interest until the end, the film dies completely as the historical Seville center is exchanged by the Expo92 site. this leads me to second aspect, picking up Sevilla, in the moment of its more visceral, more mediterranean moment of the year, and building there an absolutely inner abstract Amenábar kind of story is a failure by principle. No story can hold against those strong traditions. You either make a picture "about" Sevilla, about religion, and insert content on that basis (it was following that path for the first half) or you detach the story from any perfectly identifiable context (example once more: Abre los ojos) and build whatever you want in that abstract/normal/universal etc. space. And in this second,you have to hold the viewer with strong thinking and fine construction. The first chance s more documented in a way, more "earth-to-earth", the second may (or not) work out more intelligent.

Anyway, trying to mix both was the failure here. OK, Amenábar's soundtrack, following Herrmann is good, works in the mood, there are good shots of Sevilla, exploring some places, and the overall production is quite good (Spanish is now and was already here in a great production level). But you have much better things to watch from this country. Anyway i'm still trying to find something worthwhile and which understands Sevilla, a fantastic city to which cinema hasn't been paying the necessary tribute.

My evaluation: 3/5 (holds only for the production, some beautiful faces, and the other good elements i mentioned)

Spanish-made suspense/action film with horror overtones.

It's the last Holy Week of the millennium in Seville and crossword puzzle creator Simon Cardenas finds himself at the center of a religious mystery. Things just keep getting crazier and crazier for poor Simon.

I'd say this is geek suspense at its finest. Interesting use of role-playing gamers and religious conspiracy, and crossword puzzle fans like myself may look for hidden messages in the NYT Sunday puzzle for a few days. Plus, I love "who do you trust" stories and I adore the fabulous gorgeous-ness of Eduardo Noriega, so this couldn't really fail for me. I thought it was a great little flick that kept me engaged and entertained all the way through.

In Europa ,Spain seems to be the one country to have understood the American lessons for the thriller.France failed dismally because its directors tried too hard to sound American .Spain integrates Yankee savoir faire into a personal approach.Take "nadie conoce a nadie":it's Spanish to the core,with its Sevillian pageantry,its Holy week and its processions.This is a wonderful backdrop for a psychological eerie thriller.Eduardo Noriega -who starred in the two Amenabar peaks "abre los oyos" and "tesis" -is definitely the best Spanish actor of his generation.

Owing a lot to Fincher's "the game" ,"nadie conoce a nadie" shows some originality,particularly in its first part,when religion seems to be the center of the plot:Bunuelesque accents often emerge -but is there one Spanish director not influenced by the great creator?.The second part dissatisfies a bit ,because some plot twists are irrelevant (the girl's part is not convincing ),but the final is impressive .

A splendid cinematography,enhancing Sevilla ,and a tight directing,keeping sex and violence to the minimum, give the movie substance.

Absolutely nothing happens in this sloooow, annoying, thrill-less thriller directed by Amenabar's usual collaborator Mateo Gil. The film, which in some way deals with the effect of boredom and the quest for thrills, actually delivers none, and seems like an exercise in boredom. The only mildly suspenseful moment is the movie's climax, which takes about 30 seconds of the whole agonizing 100-plus minutes, and is resolved too simply. The plot lacks sophistication or credibility, and while the idea is original, the way the story unfolds is arbitrary and every plot device or twist is a result of outside interference (deus-ex-machina). The hero is always passive, everything happens to him without forcing him to show any initiative or resourcefulness. If you're fans of the genre, watch "Tesis" instead.

NOBODY KNOWS ANYBODY (Nadie Conoce a Nadie)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: Dolby Digital

Unusual thriller from Mateo Gill, in which an unhappy crossword designer (Spanish heartthrob Eduardo Noriega, from THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE and BURNT MONEY) is inadvertently 'recruited' by a sinister organization during Holy Week in Seville, plunging him into a nightmare of serial murder and terrorism, and culminating in a heartstopping sequence at the height of the city's religious festivities, during which Noriega is forced to make the most catastrophic decision of his life.

Gill and cinematographer Javier Salmones frame their widescreen images in a manner which suggests nothing less than cosmic forces at work, rendering the population of an entire city culpable in the moral destruction of an unwitting hero (illustrated by an extraordinary sequence in which Noriega is pursued by hooded figures through narrow back-streets lined with tourists who simply stand back and gape as hunters and quarry engage in a battle with toy ray guns!). The reason for all this mayhem stretches credibility, but the film - based on a novel by Juan Bonilla - is crafted with technical precision, and distinguished by an extravagant music score by Gill's longtime associate and fellow filmmaker Alejandro Almenábar (OPEN YOUR EYES, THE OTHERS), designed to convey the central character's growing isolation as he falls ever deeper into a city-wide conspiracy. A fine example of European commercial cinema, with scenes that rival Hitchcock or Argento at their most creative.

(Spanish dialogue)