ma-cortes
Good thriller in which a soldier (Juan Diego Botto) and a sergeant (Carmelo Gomez) investigate a series of murdered bodies . As a serial killer is on the loose , among the Spanish soldiers who are fighting alongside the Germans against the Russian on the Eastern front . The only clue is a part of Spanish nursery rhyme that is carved into the chest of the victims . A battalion of the as called Blue Division encounters a series of horses' heads scattered on the frozen surface of a lake . The bodies are submerged beneath the ice and mounted on one of the horses , the body of a Spanish soldier. A pit pierced his neck from side to side, and the shoulder has an inscription to the sword: "Have I not see God" . The high command (Adolfo Fernández) assigns the investigation to private Arturo Andrade , a former police inspector , the task is seemingly impossible but he takes the job with precision and professionalism . Arthur believes that the murder is related to Masonry . It is also extremely difficult for Arturo , being a simple soldier , to discover a murder within the military hierarchy , during wartime , as he finds out a diabolical master plan that may lead to the very top of the chain of command . The film also deals with ¨Blue División¨ , officially designated as División Española De Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250 Infanterie-Division in the German Army , it was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front . In 1942-1943 ,it was transferred north to the southeastern flank of the Leningrad siege . After the collapse of the German southern front following the Battle of Stalingrad , more German troops were deployed southwards . By this time, General Emilio Esteban Infantes had taken command . The Blue Division faced a major Soviet attempt to break the siege of Leningrad in February 1943, when the 55th Army of the Soviet forces, reinvigorated after the victory at Stalingrad, attacked the Spanish positions at the Battle of Krasny Bor . Despite heavy casualties, the Spaniards were able to hold their ground against a Russian force seven times larger and supported by tanks. The assault was contained and the siege of Leningrad was maintained for a further year. The division remained on the Leningrad front where it continued to suffer heavy casualties due to weather and to enemy action. When Franco dispatched more reinforcements, this time it included conscripts as well as volunteers. Through rotation, as many as 45,482 Spanish soldiers served on the Eastern Front . They were awarded both Spanish and German military awards, and were the only division to be awarded a medal of their own, commissioned by Hitler. Eventually, the Allies and conservative Spanish began to press Franco for the withdrawal of troops from the Eastern Front quasi-alliance with Germany. Franco initiated negotiations in the spring of 1943 and gave an order of withdrawal . Some Spanish soldiers refused to return. While some believed that Franco gave his unofficial blessing as long as their number was below 1,500, on November 3, 1943 the Spanish government ordered all troops to return to Spain . In the end, the total of "non returners" was close to 3,000 men, mostly Falangists. Spaniards also joined other German units, mainly the Waffen-SS, and fresh volunteers slipped across the Spanish border near Lourdes in occupied FranceThis is a good suspense movie with offbeat and surprising scenarios . This is a murder mystery set in the WWII in which the main premise results to be the following : How do you find out a cunning, vicious series killer who hideously mutilates and carves with bizarre symbols and messages , amidst the misery , crossfire and chaos . It packs an uneven plot that relies heavily on the relationship among Juan Diego Botto and Carmelo Gomez . The movie is exhilarating in its visual approach , including thrills , chills , intrigue , plot twists , and spectacular wartime spectacle . Nice acting by Juan Diego Botto as Arturo , a world-weary police inspector, now serving his country in the brutal regime of the military . And amiable performance from Carmelo Gomez as Espinosa , an astute sergeant who helps Inspector-soldier Arturo Andrade . Support cast is frankly well such as Victor Clavijo , Sergi Calleja , Jorge De Juan Adolfo Fernández , and Andrés Gertrúdix .Colorful and evocative cinematography by Alfredo Mayo , being filmed on location in Lithuania ; Mayo is considered to be one of the best Spanish cameramen , he has photographed known titles as ¨Barrio¨, The method¨, ¨High heels¨, ¨Kika¨ , ¨Mondays in the sun¨ , "The Galíndez File" ¨Kamchatka¨, "The Place That Was Paradise" , among others . Thrilling as well as atmospheric musical score by Lucio Godoy who has composed a lot of attractive soundtracks . Godoy had many successes such as ¨Blackthorn¨, All about my mother¨, ¨The others¨, ¨Amador¨ ,¨Girasoles Ciegos¨ , ¨Mataharis¨ and many others . The motion picture was professionally produced and directed by Gerardo Herrero . Gerardo is a famous producer as well as filmmaker . He was President of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1994-1994) . Great producer of big hits , being especially known for The Secret of your ears (2009), Sin Retorno (2010) , Balada Triste de Trompeta (2010) , Crimenes De Oxford (2008) and El Hijo De La Novia (2001). He also directed some good films such as ¨Corredor Nocturno¨ , ¨Principio Arquímedes¨ , ¨Crimen Galindez¨ , ¨Frontera Sur¨, ¨Territorio Comanche¨ , ¨Desvio a Paraíso¨ , ¨Al Acecho¨ and ¨Heroína¨ . Despite some failure and gaps , I must admit that I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to those who love thrillers .
vetro71
If you love B-movies, about criminal investigations, and aren't too picky about details, then you will like this Spanish crime drama. The plot: In 1943 a serial killer is on the loose, among the Spanish soldiers (the so called Blue Division - Division Espanola de Voluntarios) who are fighting alongside the Germans against the Russian on the Eastern front. The only clue is a part of Spanish nursery rhyme that is carved into the chest of the victims. The private Arturo Andrade, a former police inspector, is ordered to investigate the case. The problem? The Blue Division consists of around 18.000 men, and the task is seemingly impossible. It is also extremely difficult for Arturo, being a private, to investigate a crime within the military hierarchy, during wartime. Arturo tries his best, and slowly manages to gather the evidence he needs. Here in lies the flaw of the manuscript; the clues come a bit too cheap. One scene - where Arturo scours through mail inside a truck which is driven at full speed - is particularly awkward. The end is also not the typical CSI-end (we found the killer and sent him to jail). Despite these flaws, I must admit that I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to those who like B-crime dramas.
3xHCCH
Soldiers find a dead Spanish soldier frozen in the icy battlefield. Private Arturo Andrade astutely notices that the guy did not freeze to death, but was murdered in a ritualistic manner. Arturo was then assigned to lead the investigation, that led him a complicated maze of Nazism, Freemasonry and Russian Roulette.The time period was very interesting. 1943, during World War II at a time when Spanish soldiers were fielded to serve in Nazi Germany. However, that piece of history turned out to be nothing more than an elaborate backdrop.The start of this film was so beautifully shot and the development of the story in the first half of the film was so tense and well-done. However, when we get to the second half, I do not know what happened, but suspense that built up all and the patience you have invested in trying to get to the bottom of this mystery collapse like a failed soufflé and go to waste.
rightwingisevil
this movie has brought me to a teary sleeping stage with constant big yawns one after another. the shooting is not bad, the casting, okay, the directing, well, shall i say, quite dead-beat due to a lousy and loosely knitted screenplay. the plot is not quite interesting either. those Spanish soldiers wearing nazi German's uniforms, all looked too new and too clean, a sharp contrast to the arranged wounded treatment condition. the dialog is also very boring with lot of unnecessary conversations among those soldiers. there lacks any tension during the east front invasion. soldiers didn't look like in a war but a walk in the park. still got time and morale in gambling, drinking, fornicating with the Russian local females who looked more urban instead of peasant-like, all wearing nice and clean dresses, while those Russian people exposed in the open wearing rustically, shabby and poorly, so contrast to those young Russian women came on the horse wagon for the free chow and ride by the Spanish soldiers. there seems to have endless mistakenly arranged fake scenes that mindlessly exposed the incapable knowledge of how to shoot a no-big-deal murder mystery during the harsh winter of the Russian front. by blindly and generously praising the courage to expose the involvement of the Spanish army jointed forces with the nazi German military forces to invade Russia did not deserve my compliment at all, because i am judging whether a movie is good or bad by only concentrating on the movie itself instead of the historical facts or the courage of showing such true involvement.this is an overly ballooned, overly exaggerated movie just like a senior's enlarged prostate that constantly giving you peeing pressure but when you visit the restroom and standing in front of the urinal, all you got is couple of drops instead of torrent. this movie never gave you any thrilling or suspenseful feelings but false hope of expectation through out the whole playing time. just a hollow script carried out by a incapable director. what a disappointment.
