Todos estamos invitados

Spain, The Basque Country or Pais Vasco , sometime in the 90s . Josu Jon (Oscar Jaenada of Camaron) is a young member of the terrorist organization ETA that brutally killed about one thousand people and acting similarly to Sicilian Mafia . Jon has suffered an almost complete record loss after being wounded in a shooting with the Ertzainza or Basque police . As he awaits for his trial, his condition is being treated at the prison hospital . Other inmates (Adolfo Fernandez) belonging to the same organization attempt to make him remember his previous deeds and how he must go back to the armed fight as soon as he gets out of jail . On the other hand , Xabier Legazpi (Jose Coronado) , an University professor, is threatened for his political views and his criticism to violence on the situation of the Basque Country where rules Law of Silence and ¨Omerta¨. Due to his political views on the Basque situation he is marginalized and suffers ostracism , though he attempts to do an ordinary life . Despite the constant threats and the warnings of the Police , he usually walks without fright though protected by bodyguards . He is having an affair with Francesca (Vanessa Incontrada) , an Italian girl who is surprised on a daily basis with what she sees on the streets and places of the Basque Country . Francesca, an intelligent and gorgeous woman , works as a psychologist in a sanitarium . At a point, it doesn't seem to be clear whether Josu Jon really wants to recover his memory or rather forget forever who he actually is . A warm feeling of mutual affection grows between her and her patient , Josu . The terrorist who has lost his memory, is shown again , still under strict medical supervision but now in the sanitarium where Francesca , Xabier's girlfriend , works . A delightful and enjoyable feeling seems to grow between Francesca and Josu Jon as Francesca wants to help him recover his memory .

Moving drama/thriller plenty of emotion , suspense , intrigue , delusions , plot twists , and real events about Basque Country . Despite being somewhat of a cinematic cliché, rarely has a feature been so aptly deserving of its description as a thriller picture along with some elements from action genre , politics , intense drama and bloody terrorism . The picture depicts a nice portrayal about Basque habits , as there appears ordinary drink as ¨Chacoli¨ , ¨Cocochas of Merluza¨ , Basque Pinchos eaten at the traditional meals of his Sociedad Gastronómica or Txokos , Basque parades as well as local police called Ertzainza . The picture is pretty well , but also has conventional pitfalls . Because the story needs a vibration more real than the one offered in this sometimes slow-moving flick , though also contains interesting scenes , thrilling images and sensitive moments . Anyway, its is compensated with the great performances from main cast , and support cast such as Iñaqui Miramon , Adolfo Fernandez , Txema Blasco , Iñaqui Font , Mariana Cordero , interpreters who provided a considerable boost to the result . Fine acting by Oscar Jaenada as a terrorist who a bullet has reached his left brain hemisphere resulting in an almost complete memory loss , Jose Coronado as Xabier, a college professor who has been death-threatened by the terrorists and Vanessa Incontrada as Francesca, a young psychologist who happens to end up trying to help Josu Jon recover his memory . Atmospheric musical score by Angel Illaramendi who composes a stirring soundtrack . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Gonzalo Berridi .

The motion picture perfectly produced by magnificent producer Enrique Cerezo was compellingly directed by Manuel Gutierrez Aragon , a good Spanish movies director . Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón was born on January 2, 1942 in Torrelavega, Cantabria, where uses to set most of films , including Valley Pas . He is a writer and director, known for Habla, Mudita (1973), Camada Negra (1977) , Maravillas (1981) , Demonios en el Jardín (1982) , Feroz (1984) , Visionarios (2001) and this his last movie Todos Estamos Invitados (2008) . He began working in cinema in 1973 when he filmed ¨Habla Mudita ¨ , this debut feature by acclaimed Spanish director deals with a strange relationship between a mature men and a mute villager and set in rural country from Valley Pas similarly to La Vida Que Te Espera (2004) . Manuel Gutierrez is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally, and in proof of it he won many prizes among which there are the following ones : David di Donatello Awards , Moscow International Film Festival , and San Sebastian International Festival award to ¨Demonios en Jardin¨ , Goya Awards 1987 to ¨La Mitad del Cielo¨ , Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain and Berlin Internation Festival 1996 to ¨Rey del Rio¨ , Biarritz International Festival awards and Goyas 2003 to ¨Caballero Don Quijote¨ , among others .

Cheesy attempt at a thriller, with hackneyed plot, characters, and storyline. Whether its Basque bad guys speaking Spanish with a gratuitous bit of Basque thrown in, or the stressed out lovers falling in the sand on the beach in San Sebastian, its pretty fake. Shots of the Basque sociedades (communal kitchen/social eating clubs) and food are hunger-inducing,even if ham-handed, but that's about all that seemed genuine in this movie. This movies fails to connect with any universals that touch people who live with terrorism and nationalist sentiments. From whatever point of view whether ETA, anti-ETA, or simple moviegoer trying to appreciate a particular story that touches a human universal, this movie is a failure.

I just watched the movie this evening, and the only reason for which I didn't leave the theater was because I was on my first date, and I thought it would be too rude to start off that way. I felt deeply disappointed about the movie, and I still keep thinking why the director, the script writers, the actors, etc., couldn't see they were filming a complete boutade about such a complex situation as that of the Basque Country. The movie just doesn't make any sense trying to combine (a) the portrait of a so-called terrorist (poor Oscar Jaenada) and his pathetic terrorist friends (the only connection with true terrorists must be that both groups must exchange the same unreal dialogs), (b) the complete change of attitude of what's supposed to be a brave university professor right after he receives the first warning from the terrorist group, (c) an absurd show, I guess, of Basque cuisine and traditions, and (d) the most unbelievable way of dying... It's a shame that such high percentage of the very few movies made in Spain about important issues such as terrorism, politics, corruption, etc. has to be so bad. But perhaps it's just because we don't understand what cinema is about, who knows...

The shortage of films dealing with the oppression imposed to a part of Spanish society (the people living in the Basque Country) by the Marxist-nationalist terrorism of the Basque separatist mafia-like organization ETA can only be explained by fear. The fear that makes very difficult to depict what happens in a society in which silence is the fist commandment also explains why, after 30 years of democracy and a generous autonomy for the Basque Region, the terrorists remain active. The making of this film had to overcome the negative of many of its possible crew to collaborate in it (ETA has killed journalists and intellectuals who oppose to the Basque Nazism). Terrorism in the Basque Country is directly supported by less than 10% of population but many Basques regard themselves as "moderate" nationalists (about 50% of the population votes for more or less "moderate" nationalist parties) but most of them oppose terrorism only in their speech but never in their action. It is a mean mix of fear and usefulness (when you are a nationalist your life becomes much more comfortable than the one of non-nationalist citizens) that remains unchallenged.

It would have been necessary many more movies that portray the life of those that have been threatened for opposing to the nationalist mafia, to advance in the fight against terror, and those films should have been made twenty years before. Gutierrez Aragon deserves credit for reflecting how fear is the fabric of that society: it is well depicted the way of living of a university teacher who must be escorted by bodyguards 24h a day, and it explains that thousands of other common citizens live under protection (plain councilors, journalists, teachers…) while their neighbors and "friends" give them their back. But the story most of the time does not flow but advances in fits and starts, and the political responsibility of the authorities is not discussed; it seems that when writing the script so many subjects were necessary to treat, because of the delay of years, that the mission was not successfully accomplished. So far, fiction has not been the accurate way for cinema to deal with that everyday reality and maybe only documentary movies could be successful in it. In the scarce list of movies dealing with the suffering of victims of the Basque nationalist terrorism one stands out: "Thirteen among a thousand "(2005) (Trece entre mil) by Basque director Arteta: it is a documentary and it is both more valiant and more precise than "Todos estamos invitados" in the objective to portrait the covered truth of a society oppressed by Nazis in the middle of a democratic and prosperous Europe.