Menor de los males, El (2007)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Antonio Hernández

Writers:

Antonio Galeano (writer)
Antonio Hernández (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 2008 (Spain)

Genre:

Thriller

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Carmen Maura	...	Julia
Roberto Álvarez	...	Eduardo
Verónica Echegui	...	Vanesa
Marta Belenguer	...	Ruth
Antonio Durán 'Morris'	...	Hugo
Xabier Deive	...	Rodero
César Cambeiro	...	Escoriza
Berta Ojea	...	Maria

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Company:

Voz Audiovisual

Cinema needs someone like Antonio Hernández!

In 21st Century Spain, where apparently censorship does not exists anymore, there is a much subtler (but no less effective) new obstacle for the artists: censorship by omission. Anything can be filmed, but, but if nobody is going to exhibit, then it does not exist! It happens in all kind of arts. You can compose any kind of music, but if nobody is going to release it, that music does not exist. It is, therefore, a concealed censorship. So art is no an artifact anymore, but just mere entertainment.

Antonio Hernández, whose first film, 1979's F.E.N., is one of those never praised enough hidden masterpieces of Spanish cinema, proves to be a very courageous auteur, because despite that censorship by omission of present times, paradoxically not present in 1979 (comes to mind names as diverse as Paulino Viota, Iván Zulueta or Eloy de la Iglesia himself), he dares to show all the immorality required by the story itself.

I don't understand why we've had to wait for the Spanish election campaign to finish for being able to see this film released. I don't understand either why its showing in theaters will be (and let's hope I'm wrong) quite limited. I'm afraid this being one more of those censorship by omission symptoms that I was referring to earlier. But El Menor De Los Males is a work of incalculable value for the times we live in.

The only reason why I rated it a 9 (and not a 10) is because the plot takes some time to develop. The first part flirts with different genres in an unnecessary way, in my opinion. Also I would have preferred someone less used to comedy for the main part. But once it takes off, El Menor De Los Males converts itself into an unstoppable artifact, effective and with no concessions. An overwhelming film experience.

Sometimes Antonio Hernandez's style still reminds me of F.E.N. The closer it is, the more I like it. That's why I liked En La Ciudad Sin Límites so much, and that's why I also like El Menor De Los Males. Specially, the film's epilogue (and I'm not spoiling anything), in which some people try very hard to get things back to normal after the storm, to no avail, it's very similar to the one on F.E.N.

I only hope more films like this to be released in a moment in which globalization reaches even parcels that some years before were full of activists: Culture and the Arts!

Bravo!!!