ma-cortes
Intriguing thriller packed with stellar acting , superb cinematography and colorful rural landscapes . Gripping and stirring picture , set in the rural environment of the deep Spain , in which there's a fine line between genre conventions and outright clichés . It happens in the deep Spanish lands , a village in a remote and forgotten location . In the north of Spain , "Esteban" (Carmelo Gomez) and "Pedro" (Mariano Alameda) are two speleologist who come to a mountainous area to study the discovery of a cavern and determine whether it has scientific interest or is useless . They are accompanied by "Gabi" (Judith Diakhate), the sweetheart of Esteban , who awaits them at the foot of the mountain . While the cavers are exploring a cave near from village Gabi is approached by a stranger (Manuel Moron) rooted in a misogynistic past and is attacked in the nearby woods . His reaction leads to a tragic chain of events . The deeds bring together a pair of different Guardias Civiles , First Corporal (Celso Bugallo) and Tomás (Vicente Romero) . As two deputies attempt to track down a criminal who has terrorized an easy community . Formula thriller filled with gritty intrigue , crisply edition , tension , suspenseful and a little of violence . It is a story of interwoven lives structured into six parts , crossed by a web of suspense that is resolved in the last story in a surprising finale . The flick revolves around a tragic event becomes complex throughout the movie . This serious and truly original film with groundbreaking narrative results to be a fantastically intriguing story of ambition , corruption , deceiving and killing , being very well done , swiftly paced and including a twisted screenplay . Interesting theme about some potholers and authority enforcements , slipping outside the bounds of the law through their use of lies as well as half-truths ; including corrupt deputies who attempt to carry out objectives by whatever means ; however this issue has been previously treated in many other films , especially American ones . It has emotional or aesthetic resonance , even comforting in some ways , and partly because is just more attuned to nuanced variations on what might appear to be mere formula . The plot is twisted but plenty of thrills and surprises . This intelligently made picture relies heavily on a complicated plot , interweaving disparate characters , ordinary people , detectives to investigate a grisly killing and many other things . This moving motion picture contains stylistic boldness and energy . There are six regular characters faced with extreme situations, and perhaps one of the main objectives Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo got was precisely to show how the ordinary villagers can cause a situation so complicated and dramatic . It's a pretty good film in which the main and support cast give a good work there are great characters , everyone does their job perfectly . Secondary actors are frankly well such as Celso Bugallo , Manuel Morón , Vicente Romero , Cesareo Estebanez , Petra Martinez , and special mention for veteran Walter Vidarte as nutty Amós Thrilling as well as evocative musical score by Krishna Levy who has composed successful as ¨8 Women ¨, "Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets" and ¨The Fall¨ . Colorful as well as dark cinematography by Angel Iguacel . Excellent debut from Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo (writer and director) with this film "La Noche de Los Girasoles" a great Noir Cinema film set in the rural Spanish location . This is his only picture , "The Night of the Sunflowers" he would go on writing/directing series and TV episodes such as ¨Bajo Sospecha¨, ¨Velvet¨, ¨Gran Hotel¨, ¨Victor Ros¨ , ¨Hispania¨, ¨Guante Blanco¨, ¨Crematorio¨, ¨Hospital Central¨, among others . ¨The night of the sunflowers¨ is an award-winning movie such as Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Won CEC Award Best Actor Carmelo Gómez , Best New Artist : Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo , Best Supporting Actor : Celso Bugallo ; Miami Film Festival 2007 Won Audience Award Ibero-American Competition Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo won Special Mention Dramatic Features - Ibero-American Cinema Competition For the musical soundtrack ; Sant Jordi Awards 2007 Won Sant Jordi Best First Work ; Spanish Actors Union 2007 : Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Performance in a Minor Role, Male Manuel Morón ; Turia Awards 2007 Won Best First Work Best Director : Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo
jghbrown
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this beautifully studied movie, in particular the deeply authentic portrayal of Spanish rural life. Had this been Hollywood we would have been treated to sweeping views and beautiful people. Here we are dealing with everyday folk in an unspectacular town which is losing all its young to the cities. Night and sunflowers don't go together. Neither do roly-poly traveling salesmen and rape. We realize from the start that something bad is about to sweep through the countryside and when it does it touches everything in its path. Then, when it has gone past everything goes back to normal. The salesman finds a shoe on his chair and the sunflowers are about to be exposed to sun again. The music adds to the sense of pervasive evil.For its effect the movie relies on subtlety rather than fast action. Everything is in the minute details. The looks between the wife and her errant husband. The two neighbors who love to hate each other. The salesman eating a chocolate biscuit while talking to his wife on the phone. The acting is low-key and superb in every way. The only part which seemed somewhat contrived was when the money was thrown on the fire. Would the corrupt cop simply have stood there and watched it burn?Some of the details intrigued me. Why did the young man show the salesman where the quarry was on the map? And why did the salesman say "Bastard" later when he was looking down at the town? The way I figured it was that when he was talking to the young man he hadn't yet murdered the girl. After he did so he remembered the quarry and decided to dump her there only to find that the man had been kidding him.It's details like that which make a movie and keep you thinking about it long after it ends. Highly recommended.
kaaber-2
what's with those sunflowers? Well, never mind; The Night of Whatever is a beautiful film despite a slightly uneven plot that permits an aging and brilliantly acted Spanish equivalent of Lieutenant Columbo, LAPD, to dominate the last third of a film otherwise promising to catch a multitude of balls thrown into the air at the outset. "Sunflowers" is related (and can hold a candle) to films like "Crash" and "Babel" by its non-linear narrative and its description of the fatal encounters of hitherto unrelated characters. It's the film's great forte is that we actually get involved with them. The central scene in which an innocent old man is killed by our protagonists who act in the belief that he has brutally raped a young woman is stunning. We are beyond language in this scene - the characters act blindly - an mutely - on the wrong assumptions; a horrible act committed by decent, mistaken people. It may be compared with the gruesome burial of Dan Hedaya in Coen's "Blood Simple". "The Night of the Sunflowers" is definitely worth watching, and a Spanish more-mainstream alternative to Almodóvar.
dylgates
I really liked the film and disagree with some of the comments made earlier. Firstly, it's a Spanish movie so I can't see how it can be influenced by A Touch of Evil regarding location. Touch of Evil was set in Mexico. Secondly, I thought the 'silent' killing scene actually made a point about the two worlds that exist in Spain; the city and the countryside. The old farmer was a virtual hermit and barely existed in the modern world as represented by the Cavers. His near silence was mentioned by one of the characters who said that old Cecilio barely speaks.Regarding the ending, I would say that the strongest character was the old Police Officer. Despite his frail appearance, it is clear that his mind is still sharp and he still has a strong moral code - unlike his son-in-law. What I liked about the movie was how the moral conundrum forced the viewer to consider what they would do if placed in such a situation. I don't think the killing would ever be seen as an 'accidental'death. In his anger, the caver attempted to kill the farmer. They entered the house with this intention.Overall, I felt it was a really powerful movie and will surely be remade by Hollywood.
