The crew who, with them, made this film are equally reputable: not least director Paco Plaza (, Veronica), who – with his usual cinematographer Pablo Rosso – is known for a precise and realistic style. The cast, as you may have noticed, bring a range of well respected Spanish resumes. The slow pace (supplemented with hypnotic music and careful use of silence at times) reinforces this mood: Antonio receives his medication day after day, the viewer keeps watching, the sons try to change their fate, the story moves forward… But this is not a flaw: rather, it lends itself to the inevitability of a dark story: drug addiction and revenge alike are shown to be doomed. The plot of Quien a Hierro Mata is linear, almost to the point of predictability. Classic tragedies tend to be populated with fairly two-dimensional characters who support a central one or two. Antonio Paladin appears to be little more than a plot device via his debilitating disease, but the subtle writing hints at real character depth and intellect which unfortunately his two sons Toño (Ismael Martinez, Talk to Her) and Kike (Enric Auquer, Framed) are not blessed with. Tosar (so different to his character in Jaume Balagueró’s Sleep Tight) is utterly plausible as the nurse, in both betraying trust given to him so easily and in neglecting his pregnant wife Julia (Maria Valverde) when he finds himself caught in the middle of the Paladin family crisis. The character of Mario is given nearly all the focus, with an agonizing conflict between loyalty to his family (new and old) and his professional conscience and just enough back story to support this conflict. I’m going to keep going back to the Shakespearean comparison, I’m afraid due to both the plot and the characters. He is placed in the care of experienced nurse Mario (Luis Tosar), who had not long put his hatred of the cartel behind him when old Antonio showed up. Antonio Paladin (Xan Cejudo), the elderly don of a drug-dealing family is released from prison early due to deteriorating health, and he elects to enjoy some rest in a care home instead of going home to his sons. They do happen, and it doesn’t matter how plausible they are: therein lies a story. The scenario for this plot is based – like many a Shakespearean play – on a coincidence.
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