Grupo 7

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

The city of Seville was about to celebrate the 1992 Universal Expo when a unit of police tried to clean the city of drugs with some controversial methods.

The movie describe perfectly the environment of the oppressed neighborhood in the south of Spain and the behavior of the people.

Very good performances by side actors and a great directing, a chance to know a different side of the Spanish films.

The star Mario Casas usually play the same old role of the charming guy in commercial teenage movies or TV shows but this is not a bad start to a more important career.

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).

In Unit 7, we get an exciting and realistically told police-thriller about a narc police unit made to fight drug traffic in the mid to late eighties, when Sevilla is preparing to host the World exhibition, Expo 1992. Unit 7 is the best group in years, getting big results. We meet a young cop, which clashes with an older, more experienced one.

The young cop Angel, played by Mario Casas seems to be the main person here, though he plays against some more experienced Spanish actors. They all do a great job. Casas is charming and believable as a young copper, and holds up the film as a leading actor.

Nothing fancy, just plain old police work like it really would happen. However, they use all tricks, and not all of then are written in the police handbook. Young Angelo steals 200 grams of heroin at a bust, so that they can use I to portion it up and plant it on some of those tending to get away. The whole unit are so close to the drug environment, that it is a trust problem on many accounts. Even media starts doubting the reason for the good number of busts they are doing.

The film work is good. Exciting to follow, and there's a certain nerve that is catching. I like the action scenes, and the flight scenes, which are effective and raw stuff. The movie is filmed in both colorful moments, as gritty dark bleak moments, depending on what situation we are in.

Undoubtedly one of the best Spanish films I've seen!