Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Bliss Quest So many unnecessary characters and scenes in a film that runs out of steam before the finish-line. Also, it seems the director has a childish fascination with silly drone shots...Again unnecessary. This film was trying to make so many points that it ended-up making none. Watching this became tiresome after the first 15 minutes.

ddipaolo-52591 First, I must say that I speak Spanish and that makes my experience a little different than people who watched with subtitles. What an astonishingly well-made movie. The acting is suburb, and the cinematography is nothing short of magnificent. This movie is an emotional roller coaster, containing moments of heartbreak, suspense, and relief. The Marshland is set in 1970's Spain, at the end of the fascist Franco regime. The two main characters, both detectives, appear to be polar opposites when it comes to ideology. This strain between the two protagonists adds a lot to the tone and the direction of the film. There are many unpredictable moments. There aren't many boring moments, overall the film keeps the audience engaged until the end when the suspense builds up to a satisfying finish. Excellent cinema, I'll definitely be looking forward to more great movies coming out of Spain.

Coventry This is one of those rare but fantastic thrillers where the locations and weather conditions form an equally important – if not even more important – protagonist as the leading actors/actresses. So, in fact, "La Isla Mínima" hasn't got two but three lead actors: Javier Gutiérrez, Raùl Arévalo and the mesmerizing Southern Andalusian filming location during a hot and moist summer! And there's another peculiar oddity that contributes to the unique and unsettling atmosphere of the film, namely that the events take place in the year 1980. We see quite a lot of thrillers nowadays that take place in the eighties, and usually scriptwriters do this because they want to avoid inserting new technologies like mobile phones or internet, but here it serves another and very particular purpose. The time accurately depicts a nation stuck in a vast identity crisis; Spain licking its wounds and slowly recovering from the Franco dictatorship period. Here, in a small community amidst the Andalusia marshlands, two detectives from Seville are investigating the disappearance of two teenage girls – sisters – during the annual town's carnival. The detectives are complete opposites. Pedro is young, ambitious and obeys the rules as much as possible, whereas Juan is experienced but cocky, struggling with his health and addictions and his methods to obtain information are often quite rough and unorthodox. Yes, admittedly the forced collaboration between two completely opposite police personalities is one of the biggest and most overused clichés in cinematic history, but in "La Isla Mínima" it doesn't feel derivative or annoying for even one second. Probably this is because the sober but clever script never urges you to pick a favorite or influences you to like/dislike one or the other. Both Juan and Pedro are intelligent, brave and determined police officers, albeit in their own introvert/extrovert styles. The two quickly discover that the missing (most certainly murdered) girls aren't the first victims and that there's a serial killer at large in the marshlands since a couple of years already, but then their investigation jams completely. The atmosphere and underlying suspense of "La Isla Mínima" is unfathomable! The pacing is incredibly slow, but that's perfectly fine since the Andalusian temperatures wouldn't even allow for a speedy pacing, but the tension is continuous and absorbing. This Spanish instant-classic often gets compared to the prestigious American hit-series "True Detective", which apparently is a huge compliment (I haven't seen it yet myself), but I'm confident to state that it is probably also a huge compliment for "True Detective" to get compared to "La Isla Mínima". The cinematography is often just downright phenomenal; just look at those opening sequences for instance, which are shot from a helicopter or something and make the dreamy landscapes like beautiful paintings. Make no mistake, since there are a handful of really tense sequences that bring you to the edge of your chair with suspense. What I mean to say, in fact, is that "La Isla Mínima" is a near perfect film that has almost everything.

Reno Rangan This is a good suspense-crime-thriller. Reminded me the Korean film 'Memories of Murder', but not the same or similar, except the crime scenario and the location. Awesome to see a detective story that takes place outside the urban area. The Spanish countryside was so beautiful, those marshlands, especially from the aerial views.I think the brilliant cinematography is the first thing anyone would notice and the 80s atmosphere. The narration was steady as the crime after the crime with tension arise, while on the other side the investigation advancing till the last minute to reveal the truth.The two cops were so good, along the murder mysteries they're working on. Beside these two men are the characters with riddles. Not only to each others, but for us as well. Not easy to predict anything, also there are some loose ends to have our own perspective regarding the story puzzle. The overall impression is its a fine mystery-crime, but still I felt that I did not enjoy entirely due to the lack of originality. Other than that I'm sure it is worth a watch.6½/10