De nens (2003)

Really Surprised!

People are voting emotionally.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is expected to be a cult favorite in a few time. Fortunetly, the movie has survived a large period of (¿obligatory?) lethargy in some local archives or who knows where, and somehow has revived being available again to an eager public, after a controversial premiere. This parenthesis had contribute in the construction of the legend around this film, as well as several elements more: obviously, the subject, the film itself, in the middle between 'Constructing the Friedmans' and a imaginary Frederik Wiseman film about a trial; secondly, the author's halo (specially before his recent death) given by his previous work; thirdly, a common morbidity around a bad-known political plot, and a foreigners and even natives singular curiosity around the city of Barcelona, but not for its charm, sold cheap long before.

"De nens", a three hour long documentary by catalan director Joaquim Jordà, tries to picture the trial against five people accused of child abuse in Barcelona. The film allows us to watch how a real trial in modern Spain looks like (and the view isn't flattering: the judge seems specially partial, some lawyers quite unprepared, the attorney too nervous to focus on the case...), which is already enough interesting. Some sketches and interviews, specially with local authorities and civil leaders, interrupt this trial footage. It's only by the end of the film when we start to see the big picture Jordà is showing us: the whole inquiry against those supposed child abusers may be just a way of "getting rid" of some of the accused. A number of them are members of a neighbourhood association that opposes some ambitious plan the mayor intends to carry on. This plot, which is only suggested by Jordà, reminded me of Chinatown's... but this time... it's for real!Weak points: - careless cinematography (recording on DV shouldn't mean not caring about image quality) and sound recording, - "authorial" sequences, I think the film would be better without those pretentious theater group sketches that don't really add much. Nevertheless, if you ever get the chance, go see it. Nobody left the room though the film was three hour long. There's a bunch of interesting and not conventional films being shot in Spain every year! Don't miss them!