3rd Spanish Film Festival - Film Noir

The following films were screened at the 3rd Spanish Film Festival categorised under Film Noir at the Arts House.


La vida que te espera (Your Next Life) 2004

What’s the greatest love of all? A parent’s love. When you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the happiness of another - that is true love. When the daughter killed a neighbour in self-defence, the father willingly took up the rap, despite being misunderstood by his other daughter for a murderer. He even went to the extent of creating the illusion that he took off in guilt, leading the police on his trail. Such is a parent’s love.

Going by an old saying of “What you do not say goes undone”, the father was eventually hunted down by the police while the daughter was swept off her feet by the victim’s son. A very touching tale about a quarrel gone wrong, in a forgotten village, way up in the mountains of Pasadena.



Las horas del dia (The Hours of The Day) 2003

How easy is it to get away with murder? The owner of a failing clothes store lives a routine life and decides on a whim to kill a cab driver one day. He gets away scot-free and realizes how easy it is to kill and get away with it. He does not seem guilt ridden or regretful and lives his life as he did previously.

It’s a good thing such films are only screened at selected screenings where only a niche audience have access to. The pacing of the show was extremely slow and one would naturally expect a pay-off towards the end where the murderer probably gets his comeuppance. However, no such thing happened. Choosing his victims on a whim and convenience, he went on to kill another innocent old man who was defenceless against a well-built young man like him.

The worst thing that happened to him was that his girlfriend realized that he is not worth it and broke it off with him. Despite his reluctance to do so, he recovered very quickly and went on to pick up another attractive girl.

I do not enjoy films like this where the filmmaker does not make any attempt to make a point, the film is not very beautifully filmed and there is nothing that makes me want to recommend this film. The only thing I got from this film is that it is actually very easy to kill someone and get away with it, as long as you can live with your own conscience.

For a time and age like this where the missing persons list goes on and on and the Crime Library has more and more records of unsolved crimes, such films should be deplored and banned. Remember the two teenagers who brutally murdered a boy of six or younger in Britain some years back? And what about the random shootings in American schools? And the man who was a serial rapist and killer for decades before the law eventually caught up with him?

We cannot stop the proliferation of violent computer games where blood, gore and killings is the norm. We can put computer games to virtual reality and appreciate its art form. But for films? I certainly expect more social responsibility from filmmakers. Senseless killings do not make for a very palatable viewing experience.



La Caja 507 (The Box 507) 2002

A very well-paced film with a very satisfying ending. The father of a daughter who perished in a forest fire gets his revenge by squeezing the organization that had a hand in his daughter’s death. Young, beautiful and wild, the daughter lied to her parents and went on a dirty weekend camping trip with her boyfriend only to be charred to death.

It was years later when the father discovered by accident that his daughter’s death was indirectly caused by a money grabbing organization, out to milk more money out of the people. He went on a one-man show, confronted the mafia boss, witnessed many brutal killings and came out one piece. Not only that, as he became better and better at putting on a brave front, waving the blackmail evidence before the bigwigs, he got richer for the better.

A very intriguing premise which kept me thrilled right till the very end.