To fully understand how realistic this movie is one would have to understand the radical change of home assaults in Spain during recent years.
Ex-combatants from Eastern Europe and beyond have recently found themselves out of job and out of borders in the EU, so many of them have recycled themselves into well-trained, ruthless, and well organized criminals, the type that Europe is not truly prepared for.
If someone enters into someone's home in the US, chances are the intruder may be received with a legally owned gun and the right to shoot and kill that person. Unfortunately for Europeans, gun ownership is generally not that easily allowed, and confronting a criminal may cost the victim in court if you happen to hurt the "poor" criminal.
To make matters even worst, Europeans are used to quiet thefts, the ones that steal your stuff when you are not home. You may cry for your stolen TV, but not for your personal safety.
So when military-trained criminals, used to brutality and violence, come to one's house, there is little one can do...
...or isn't there?
Here is where we find this excellent movie, if by excellent we mean "plausible". Do not expect dramatic performances nor John Wayne coming in his horse via the living room. However, expect human emotions and human actions.
I do not give 10 points because I have notice a certain inconsistency in the criminal side of the plot that makes the movie less believable without any reason other than trying to stick to what almost every single movie on this genre does. Worse still, it does not affect the outcome of the movie, so I do not understand why it was necessary to attempt to modify the realistic formula that works so well in the rest of the movie.
However, if you are willing to forgive that slip, you will be rewarded with an incredibly realistic portrait of the drama that many Spanish families suffered and are still suffering today.
One tip: If you are going to watch this movie, get your reading glasses and opt for the original Spanish version with English subtitles (which, by the way, is something that you should do whenever you watch any movie at all).
Ex-combatants from Eastern Europe and beyond have recently found themselves out of job and out of borders in the EU, so many of them have recycled themselves into well-trained, ruthless, and well organized criminals, the type that Europe is not truly prepared for.
If someone enters into someone's home in the US, chances are the intruder may be received with a legally owned gun and the right to shoot and kill that person. Unfortunately for Europeans, gun ownership is generally not that easily allowed, and confronting a criminal may cost the victim in court if you happen to hurt the "poor" criminal.
To make matters even worst, Europeans are used to quiet thefts, the ones that steal your stuff when you are not home. You may cry for your stolen TV, but not for your personal safety.
So when military-trained criminals, used to brutality and violence, come to one's house, there is little one can do...
...or isn't there?
Here is where we find this excellent movie, if by excellent we mean "plausible". Do not expect dramatic performances nor John Wayne coming in his horse via the living room. However, expect human emotions and human actions.
I do not give 10 points because I have notice a certain inconsistency in the criminal side of the plot that makes the movie less believable without any reason other than trying to stick to what almost every single movie on this genre does. Worse still, it does not affect the outcome of the movie, so I do not understand why it was necessary to attempt to modify the realistic formula that works so well in the rest of the movie.
However, if you are willing to forgive that slip, you will be rewarded with an incredibly realistic portrait of the drama that many Spanish families suffered and are still suffering today.
One tip: If you are going to watch this movie, get your reading glasses and opt for the original Spanish version with English subtitles (which, by the way, is something that you should do whenever you watch any movie at all).