"Box 507" (not a PO Box but a safe deposit box) is all about a husband and father, Pardo (Resines), who loses his daughter in a brush fire and seven years later serendipitously discovers the fire was not the result of an accident but rather subterfuge. Pardo sets about to seek justice and finds himself embroiled in a web of intrigues involving Mafiosos and other criminal elements. This well crafted drama gets busy and stays busy with a coolly cerebral approach which avoids extremes of emotion, sex/nudity, romance, and other visceral appetizers though there is blood letting aplenty. A worthwhile watch for anyone into Euroflix with, of course, subtitles. (B+)
13 Reviews
Splendid Spanish thriller with excellent performance by the main cast , Resines and Coronado , and stunningly directed
ma-cortes7 June 2014
Thrilling as well as gripping Spanish film about a Bank clerk and an ex-police delinquent . It is one of the best noir cinema that have been made in Spain, is a fast paced thriller that keeps you in suspense and interested from start to finish ; being masterfully directed and performed by all actors, especially Coronado and Resines . Dealing with a burned-out bank director called Pardo (Antonio Resines) whose daughter (Dafne Fernandez) dies in an forest fire while camping with her boyfriend . 7 years later , his bank gets robbed and robbers break several safe deposit boxes . During the robbery Pardo is locked and by mistake looks at one of the boxes and comes across some sheets that prove his daughter's death not to be an accident but killing . Pardo swears to take vengeance on all those involved in the murder but he doesn't know that documents belong to a nasty powerful mob boss and his hoodlum , an ex-police (Jose Coronado) who mistreats his wife (Goya Toledo) , and they will stop at nothing to get them . The bank manager attempts to discover clues but in the process , he uncovers a twisted string of corruption in Sun Coast and Italian Mafia with unexpected consequences .
This is an exciting picture plenty of intrigue , killings , twists and turns . From start to finish action-packed , fast-paced , thrills , emotion and suspense is continuous . Interesting and moving screenplay by Miguel Gaztambide and the same filmmaker . It is one of the best noir film that have been realized in Spain , it is a thriller that keeps you interested and expecting . Antonio Resines , José Coronado , Goya Toledo star in the sort of story we've seen many times before - a corrupt ex-police and a stubborn family man - but it is always fun when is executed with style and Urbizu certainly seems to have that . The cast gets credible and nuanced performances that enrich the flick . This film grabs our attention , beginning with a really brutal and masterful performance by Jose Coronado . Jose Coronado is simply awesome , he steals the show as a veteran and violent ex-police with dark secrets . An interpretation similar to subsequent ¨No peace for the wicked¨ in which he won a Goya award also playing a violent police . And of course , the great Antonio Resines plays as Bank manager Modesto Pardos who stumbles across some very strange documents ; Resines is simply superb, to be able to make a character icon in the figure of an obstinate clerk . Furthermore , a good support cast such as Goya Toledo , Dafne Fernandez , Juan Fernandez , Hector Colome and Sancho Gracia , a veteran actor working from the sixties and recently deceased . The movie packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Carlos Gusi who ha photographed successes such as ¨Torrente, the dumb arm of the law¨, ¨Juan De Los Muertos¨ , ¨Take my eyes¨ and particularly ¨Cell 211¨ . And being filmed on location in Toledo , Algeciras , Linea de Concepcion , Cadiz , Torremolinos , Malaga and Tangiers , Morocco . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Mario De Benito , a fine composer expert on sinister and mysterious atmospheres as proved in ¨The witch affair ¨, ¨Rigor Mortis¨ , ¨Al Limite¨, ¨A Ciegas¨ , among others .
The film was well produced by Fernando Bovaira , one of the best Spanish producers , financing a lot of films in lavish budgets such as ¨The others¨ , ¨The sea inside¨ , ¨Agora¨ , ¨Mortadelo and Filemon¨, ¨Butterfly tongue¨ , among others . The motion picture titled Box 507 or Caja 507 was professionally directed by Enrique Urbizu and won various Goya awards . He is a specialist on Thriller as proved in ¨Todo Por la Pasta¨, ¨Cachito¨ , ¨La Vida Mancha¨ this ¨Caja 507¨ and on comedy such as ¨Cuernos Mujer¨, ¨Como Ser Infeliz¨ and ¨Tu Novia esta Loca¨ but especially Urbizu is the director of No Peace For The Wicked (No Habra Paz Para Los Malvados), an upcoming 'tough cop with big gun' movie coming out of Spain , this is his best film surpassing even "La Caja 507" .
This is an exciting picture plenty of intrigue , killings , twists and turns . From start to finish action-packed , fast-paced , thrills , emotion and suspense is continuous . Interesting and moving screenplay by Miguel Gaztambide and the same filmmaker . It is one of the best noir film that have been realized in Spain , it is a thriller that keeps you interested and expecting . Antonio Resines , José Coronado , Goya Toledo star in the sort of story we've seen many times before - a corrupt ex-police and a stubborn family man - but it is always fun when is executed with style and Urbizu certainly seems to have that . The cast gets credible and nuanced performances that enrich the flick . This film grabs our attention , beginning with a really brutal and masterful performance by Jose Coronado . Jose Coronado is simply awesome , he steals the show as a veteran and violent ex-police with dark secrets . An interpretation similar to subsequent ¨No peace for the wicked¨ in which he won a Goya award also playing a violent police . And of course , the great Antonio Resines plays as Bank manager Modesto Pardos who stumbles across some very strange documents ; Resines is simply superb, to be able to make a character icon in the figure of an obstinate clerk . Furthermore , a good support cast such as Goya Toledo , Dafne Fernandez , Juan Fernandez , Hector Colome and Sancho Gracia , a veteran actor working from the sixties and recently deceased . The movie packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Carlos Gusi who ha photographed successes such as ¨Torrente, the dumb arm of the law¨, ¨Juan De Los Muertos¨ , ¨Take my eyes¨ and particularly ¨Cell 211¨ . And being filmed on location in Toledo , Algeciras , Linea de Concepcion , Cadiz , Torremolinos , Malaga and Tangiers , Morocco . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Mario De Benito , a fine composer expert on sinister and mysterious atmospheres as proved in ¨The witch affair ¨, ¨Rigor Mortis¨ , ¨Al Limite¨, ¨A Ciegas¨ , among others .
The film was well produced by Fernando Bovaira , one of the best Spanish producers , financing a lot of films in lavish budgets such as ¨The others¨ , ¨The sea inside¨ , ¨Agora¨ , ¨Mortadelo and Filemon¨, ¨Butterfly tongue¨ , among others . The motion picture titled Box 507 or Caja 507 was professionally directed by Enrique Urbizu and won various Goya awards . He is a specialist on Thriller as proved in ¨Todo Por la Pasta¨, ¨Cachito¨ , ¨La Vida Mancha¨ this ¨Caja 507¨ and on comedy such as ¨Cuernos Mujer¨, ¨Como Ser Infeliz¨ and ¨Tu Novia esta Loca¨ but especially Urbizu is the director of No Peace For The Wicked (No Habra Paz Para Los Malvados), an upcoming 'tough cop with big gun' movie coming out of Spain , this is his best film surpassing even "La Caja 507" .
Good vengeance story
tomimt30 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Things start to roll from a tragedy seven years ago. A daughter of banker Modesto Pardo (Antonio Resines) dies in a forest fire. Years later he still hasn't gotten rid of the grief, so when his bank is heisted and he's left tied up in the vault, he gets intrigued by a bunch of papers fallen out from one of the deposit boxes: they contain a map of the area his daughter died and bank notes and account numbers. He figures out, that the death of his might not have been an accident, but a result of a deliberately started fire to get the land out from no building restriction.
La Caja 507 is well written thriller, that keeps you intrigued to the end. Resines does a great job with very low key portrayal of a man, who is in the beginning living in an auto drive. He doesn't over act his grief, but you notice the sadness within.
IF you've seen only American crime movies, La Caja 507 is quite a different kind of a film. There's no exaggerated emotions or over blown vengeance plots via huge explosions. Modesto brings out his revenge by making the crooks attacking themselves. He never touches a gun himself, he just gives them enough rope, so that they can hang themselves.
La Caja 507 is well written thriller, that keeps you intrigued to the end. Resines does a great job with very low key portrayal of a man, who is in the beginning living in an auto drive. He doesn't over act his grief, but you notice the sadness within.
IF you've seen only American crime movies, La Caja 507 is quite a different kind of a film. There's no exaggerated emotions or over blown vengeance plots via huge explosions. Modesto brings out his revenge by making the crooks attacking themselves. He never touches a gun himself, he just gives them enough rope, so that they can hang themselves.
Nice thriller with a bit of social justice.
BDPI12 March 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Spoilers alert: there is no way to state the plot of this movie without at least one spoiler, so you can either watch it for the first time without reading this (which I recommend), or read on anyway.
Antonio Resines stars as the father of a girl who he had thought died in an accidental forest fire. Once he wakes up (alone) after he is locked in the safety-deposit vault of his bank after being bound and drugged, he accidentally sees some documents. These documents reveal to him, the manager of the bank whose safety-deposit boxes were robbed, that the fire was caused to bring down property values due to the stigma of a young girl dying there.
So, he ties loose ends, and sets out for justice against all that were involved in the nasty plot. Oh, in case you read on without having seen the movie I have good news: I left enough out for you to watch and enjoy thoroughly.
A well-directed and acted movie, it is a prime example of the sort of quality film Spain produces on a regular basis. So, I obviously recommend it.
Antonio Resines stars as the father of a girl who he had thought died in an accidental forest fire. Once he wakes up (alone) after he is locked in the safety-deposit vault of his bank after being bound and drugged, he accidentally sees some documents. These documents reveal to him, the manager of the bank whose safety-deposit boxes were robbed, that the fire was caused to bring down property values due to the stigma of a young girl dying there.
So, he ties loose ends, and sets out for justice against all that were involved in the nasty plot. Oh, in case you read on without having seen the movie I have good news: I left enough out for you to watch and enjoy thoroughly.
A well-directed and acted movie, it is a prime example of the sort of quality film Spain produces on a regular basis. So, I obviously recommend it.
An OK Thriller
khatcher-211 October 2004
More or less in the 'cine noir' category, Urbizu sets us up with a refreshing thriller, almost as if he wanted to cock a snoot at the specialists in this genre on the other side of the big puddle. Interesting, even original, story, with good interpretations by both Resines and Coronado, neither of whom have ever been favourite actors for me. However here their playing is convincing and maintains tension throughout. Very definitely a 'masculine' film, as the ladies are very much relegated to minor roles. A very beautiful, exquisite Dafne Fernández (Goya en Burdeos) disappears rather promptly, and the equally adorable Goya Toledo was given a disappointingly secondary part to play. Be that as it may, the story holds interest, brings out all that charming world of corruption and mafias on Spain's 'Casta del Sol' as well as other deviations in today's world - deliberate forest fires, wife-beating............
Certainly worth a watch if you find this one on TV or on DVD; but do not expect an easy-to-swallow job, as the viewer's concentration has to play an active part - and there are not many films in this genre that manage that!
If you enjoy this film you might well like '99.9' (1997) (qv).
Certainly worth a watch if you find this one on TV or on DVD; but do not expect an easy-to-swallow job, as the viewer's concentration has to play an active part - and there are not many films in this genre that manage that!
If you enjoy this film you might well like '99.9' (1997) (qv).
IMPROVING Spanish THRILLER FILMS
ruveg20 June 2004
An interesting thriller of Spanish atmosphere, where they are mixed the dark financial manipulations of certain economic groups with the thirst of justice - vengeance? of a normal man that is involved in it by chance. Good work of Antonio Resines who leaves their comic appearance to make a serious and austere role. Two purely casual facts and its apparent relationship among them becomes a line of investigation that takes us toward a prospective but not less interesting end. Something superficial as for the character that José Coronado plays - the "key of the action" something primitive in his decisions with good performance touches in brief appearances - Sancho Gracia - give a good inflection point to the film keeping the lines of interest until the end. I think Spanish cinema has begun to reach an improvement in its thrilling genre productions . This movie is a sample.
Not the kind of plot one expects from Spanish films ...
mplaza8 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
A thriller with a finely carried plot that keeps the viewer's interest alive throughout, no mean feat, yet not the kind of plot one expects from mainstream Spanish films (or even European ones, the plot would more than suitably fit a Humphrey Bogart-starred American movie). To me, the main flaw is the main character's (portrayed by the customarily excellent Antonio Resines) moral inconsistency. He starts his crusade out of outrage for hitting by chance on the real cause of his teenage daughter's death, but ends up being no better than the thugs he seeks to punish by accepting money from them in order to keep his mouth shut. It may be argued that he does so in order to secure not being killed by the gangsters in question but to me that in turn begs question and shows him as being no better than them. The high morals that the scriptwriters lead you to believe at first as the main propeller in the man's behaviour, by the end of the film have just vanished into thin air!
"Co-Stars" Personified
jcappy31 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Two superior, non-pretentious performances make "Box 507" striking and memorable. Rafael Mazas (Jose Coronado) and Modesto Pardos (Antonio Resines) represent two distinct lives, one is an ex-cop mobster, the other a bank officer. Their lives are parallel and determinedly related but they barely touch. This is no "High Noon" . What we have in "Box" is a corrupt, corporate masculine world in which violence spirals out of control, and a civil world where law can still be used to obtain justice.
Now the ex-cop's murderous rampage does pose a problem both for viewers and for the film itself. Some viewers may want to skip it, others may watch it reluctantly, and others will scoff at this. My own take is that if the director, Enrique Urbizu, had chosen to half the body count, this film would be a near classic. What makes this call harder is that it's an unusual combo of convincing characterization so typical in French films, and of a disturbing gratuitous violence so typical of Hollywood.
What we can say about Coronado's portrayal of a mob affiliate is that it bears no resemblance to Clint Eastwood or Chuck Norris. His masculinity is not one-dimensional, nor bound to other men, nor polemical, nor is it aligned with patriotism. He's neither a man among men, nor a male imitator. If money and power are his driving force and if he's armed to the teeth, men and their games are far more dispensable to him than his love for his partner Monica Vega(Goya Toledo).
But what brings out the worst--and best, in this man is an inescapable life and death crisis which is suddenly thrust at him. Unimaginable, unforeseen, and unlucky forces combine not only to test his very fiber, but seem to collude to block and frustrate his most compelling and riveting moves. Given this, his convincing physicality, his unrattled nerve, and his severe determination, are no less than magnetic.
But perhaps it is this solitary heroism that seed his suicidal mission. Or perhaps it's the big heat taking its reckoning on his bad cop past, or the maddening quality of enduring severe frustrations. No matter the causes, we know that as his crisis deepens, his violence escalates into sadism and murder.
Yes, his execution blitz may take down only the guilty, but there's no doubt about his ruthlessness, or his lost control. Even the hoist gang tremble at his lacerating cruelty. Only when captured by mob goons does he regain himself, proclaiming his lover as a victim of injustice, and demanding that he himself be immediately shot.
The bank officer's motivation is not revenge, but rather justice--for a murdered daughter and a nearly murdered wife. He enacts his parallel commitment as a novice private investigator. Armed with nothing more than incriminating documents, and a determination that matches that of the ex-cop, he confronts equally dangerous situations and connections.
Beyond his courage, and his pedestrian heroism, what is most rare about him is his unswerving love for his wife and his daughter. In fact, for Modesto Pardos combined love and justice underwrite his incredible persistence. He visits his comatose wife daily, reporting to her his progress, encouraging her in healing words, and reminding her of both her certain recovery and his equally certain legal victory. (The unpretentiousness here and its lack of conventionality is quite remarkable.)
This reminds of one clear distinction between the Resines and Coronado characters. Pardos rejects his own interests and, in his risk ridden struggle, refuses to purge his feelings. That he never resorts to violence and rage, and instead relies on cunning, complex planning, and a kind of bold integrity, speaks of a control and competence informed as much by passion as on any fixation with scoring a victory.
And that emotion goes beyond the lives of his wife and daughter to all those affected by the fires and land seizures. These people also drive his urgent research, and his pressing need to outsmart and outmaneuver the powerful controlling forces that cause pain and suffering. He takes the criminality as deadly serious because he takes its victims in a deadly serious way.
When the two men are finally paired, they're the centrals stars of the mob's revenge, occupying their rooms of slaughter, with bleeding corpses strewn about them. The most dignified and loving thing for Razas to do, given his Monica's bloody corpse a few feet away, is to be shot down. The most dignified and loving thing for Pardos to do, given his wife is recovering, is to turn his back and walk out the door. Neither man deviates from his own script.
For the viewers, the connection between the two protagonists might seem closer than it does to them, and ditto for the two women in their lives, who stand in for the civic notion in a deranged male world.
Now the ex-cop's murderous rampage does pose a problem both for viewers and for the film itself. Some viewers may want to skip it, others may watch it reluctantly, and others will scoff at this. My own take is that if the director, Enrique Urbizu, had chosen to half the body count, this film would be a near classic. What makes this call harder is that it's an unusual combo of convincing characterization so typical in French films, and of a disturbing gratuitous violence so typical of Hollywood.
What we can say about Coronado's portrayal of a mob affiliate is that it bears no resemblance to Clint Eastwood or Chuck Norris. His masculinity is not one-dimensional, nor bound to other men, nor polemical, nor is it aligned with patriotism. He's neither a man among men, nor a male imitator. If money and power are his driving force and if he's armed to the teeth, men and their games are far more dispensable to him than his love for his partner Monica Vega(Goya Toledo).
But what brings out the worst--and best, in this man is an inescapable life and death crisis which is suddenly thrust at him. Unimaginable, unforeseen, and unlucky forces combine not only to test his very fiber, but seem to collude to block and frustrate his most compelling and riveting moves. Given this, his convincing physicality, his unrattled nerve, and his severe determination, are no less than magnetic.
But perhaps it is this solitary heroism that seed his suicidal mission. Or perhaps it's the big heat taking its reckoning on his bad cop past, or the maddening quality of enduring severe frustrations. No matter the causes, we know that as his crisis deepens, his violence escalates into sadism and murder.
Yes, his execution blitz may take down only the guilty, but there's no doubt about his ruthlessness, or his lost control. Even the hoist gang tremble at his lacerating cruelty. Only when captured by mob goons does he regain himself, proclaiming his lover as a victim of injustice, and demanding that he himself be immediately shot.
The bank officer's motivation is not revenge, but rather justice--for a murdered daughter and a nearly murdered wife. He enacts his parallel commitment as a novice private investigator. Armed with nothing more than incriminating documents, and a determination that matches that of the ex-cop, he confronts equally dangerous situations and connections.
Beyond his courage, and his pedestrian heroism, what is most rare about him is his unswerving love for his wife and his daughter. In fact, for Modesto Pardos combined love and justice underwrite his incredible persistence. He visits his comatose wife daily, reporting to her his progress, encouraging her in healing words, and reminding her of both her certain recovery and his equally certain legal victory. (The unpretentiousness here and its lack of conventionality is quite remarkable.)
This reminds of one clear distinction between the Resines and Coronado characters. Pardos rejects his own interests and, in his risk ridden struggle, refuses to purge his feelings. That he never resorts to violence and rage, and instead relies on cunning, complex planning, and a kind of bold integrity, speaks of a control and competence informed as much by passion as on any fixation with scoring a victory.
And that emotion goes beyond the lives of his wife and daughter to all those affected by the fires and land seizures. These people also drive his urgent research, and his pressing need to outsmart and outmaneuver the powerful controlling forces that cause pain and suffering. He takes the criminality as deadly serious because he takes its victims in a deadly serious way.
When the two men are finally paired, they're the centrals stars of the mob's revenge, occupying their rooms of slaughter, with bleeding corpses strewn about them. The most dignified and loving thing for Razas to do, given his Monica's bloody corpse a few feet away, is to be shot down. The most dignified and loving thing for Pardos to do, given his wife is recovering, is to turn his back and walk out the door. Neither man deviates from his own script.
For the viewers, the connection between the two protagonists might seem closer than it does to them, and ditto for the two women in their lives, who stand in for the civic notion in a deranged male world.
Mmmmm NICE!!!
silentkiko31 August 2002
A very good thriller movie
ocenkg25 December 2020
Not impressive
newjersian30 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Excellent cinematography, flawless direction, very good actors. And all this was wasted on a lousy, implausible, weak script that doesn't make any sense.
The movie starts with a killing of a 14 years old girl. And there's absolutely no reason for that crime. People who deal with billions of pesos kill a girl for no reason and no advantage to them?
And then follows a series of events that leave holes in the script bigger than the holes in a fisherman net.
At the end the director of the bank that was robbed gets a lot of money via a transfer which he openly spends on new purchases.
Really? And police doesn't make a notice of that?
It is just a unrealistic goofy story.
However, that this absolutely impossible story rates well with a lot of viewers is proof that the U. S. is turning into a nation of ignoramuses.
The movie starts with a killing of a 14 years old girl. And there's absolutely no reason for that crime. People who deal with billions of pesos kill a girl for no reason and no advantage to them?
And then follows a series of events that leave holes in the script bigger than the holes in a fisherman net.
At the end the director of the bank that was robbed gets a lot of money via a transfer which he openly spends on new purchases.
Really? And police doesn't make a notice of that?
It is just a unrealistic goofy story.
However, that this absolutely impossible story rates well with a lot of viewers is proof that the U. S. is turning into a nation of ignoramuses.
Modesto, Baja!
Junky With A Monkey31 August 2002
...kidding! La Caja 507 is absolutely fantastic from beginning to end. The direction is superb and is up to par with the brilliant acting and incredible score. Finally, the type of film that can put Spain in the map of great action thrillers! I give it 8 out of 10. A must for anyone who's tired of watching predictable action/suspense flicks; it won't dissappoint!
If the thriller is spanish must be brilliant
cosmin74200016 December 2018
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