The atrophy of rural society and the debasement of traditional ethics are explored by the debuting Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo in this compelling Spanish noir. Dividing the story into six segments (each of which centres on a key character), Sánchez-Cabezudo chronicles the appalling consequences of a city girl’s misidentification of the man who assaulted her.
There are moments of inelegant melodrama, but the structuring is satisfyingly intricate and the sinister atmosphere surrounding a seemingly sleepy community is captured with a facility that makes the amorality of the denouement all the more shockingly cogent.