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21 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Absolute first rate thriller!, 19 October 2005 Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
Tesis is a film about a film student writing an assignment on violence on film, which is appropriate because Tesis is itself, an assignment written by Alejandro Amenábar on violence and the state of the Spanish film industry. Amenábar has packed the film with nods towards the industry, and the reasons why it isn't working and this ties in excellently with the central theme of violence. The director professes that Spain's film industry will not be a success until it gives the people what it wants - and that theory in it's purest form is snuff films. Snuff films don't have any production values and exist purely to please their audience on an aesthetic level - and the snuff industry in this film is in a boom period! The idea of violence and why we find it is fascinating has made the base for many films, and it serves this one excellently too. The scene at the start sums all up; we open in a train station where someone has committed suicide. The station guards are trying to ensure that nobody sees the horror, and yet there's scores of people surrounding the tracks and Amenábar makes sure that even you - the viewer - want to survey the horror for yourself.I don't know how successful Tesis was in it's native Spain, but it's certainly one of the best films to come out of the country in recent memory, and a lot of the reason for that is that the director has heeded his own advice and given the audience what they want. Rather than try and be deep and complex like many other foreign films, Tesis is a straight thriller, not unlike what would come out of America's thriving industry, and the fact that Amenábar has knowingly accepted what his film is and hasn't tried to make it any more than that does it no end of favours. The film follows a relaxed pace, and the basic structure follows a mystery, which is being unravelled by two students; Angela, the one doing the thesis and Chema; someone she met because of his infamous love for violent films. The way that Amenábar keeps the film flowing steadily ensures that we are really able to get into the mystery, and this makes the film far more thrilling overall. The film is about snuff films, but it shouldn't be mistaken for one itself. The focus is often kept away from violence, and the director only shows us just enough of the snuff to whet our appetites.The film's main point is to show us the mystery, but the characters are never made to take a backseat. The two central figures are given time to grow as people so that we can really get to know them, and even feel for them. In many thrillers, the characters and the mystery can't be weighed up evenly; but despite the fact that he's only a young filmmaker, Amenábar has shown his brilliance by doing it to perfection. The characters actually compliment the mystery, in fact, because at times it flows because of who the characters are. This really allows the film to become compelling, and this is also where most of the true greatness lies. The characters are brought to life by a great cast of young actors. The beautiful Ana Torrent takes the lead role, and is joined by débutant Fele Martínez, who plays her opposite number. These two have an awkward chemistry, and this is capitalised on brilliantly. The third lead is played by Eduardo Noriega, who would go on to make a splash in Amenábar's Open Your Eyes a year later.Tesis doesn't get mentioned all that often in discussions about great horror/thrillers - and I really have no idea why. This is a first rate film, and really shows its cast and director's talent. The Spanish film industry may be on the decline - but it wont be if they can pump out a few more films like this one!
22 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Clever debut, 2 June 2002 Author: pumaye from Firenze, Italy
First effort by now affirmed Spanish director Amenebar, Tesis starts brilliantly (with a magnificent mix of music and images) and it develops perhaps too slowly and with a unsatisfying ending - at least for a mystery lover - butt it is for a rest a perfect machine explaining how a movie works, how it captures the attention of the viewers. Its aim and final analisys of the movie event and how violence is the basis of today's society could be debatable, but Amenebar has a gift to take good script and turn them in masterpieces.
20 out of 26 people found the following review useful: If it were in English, it would have made millions, 29 August 2001 Author: Eric Thau from Los Angeles
Tesis is one of the finest Spanish films of the last 10 years. God help us if Tom Cruise remakes this first Amenabar gem as he has Abre los ojos> Vanilla Sky coming soon, blech! Using the iconic gaze of Ana Torrent--see her at 6 in Spirit of the Beehive or at 10 in Cria!-- Amenabar makes an obvious but still gripping statement about modern society's facination with violence in the media. Using phenomenal tracking shots, cross-referenced pov and suspenseful tension to maximum effect, he and his cast convert what could have been a hack DePalma style Hitchcock ripoff into art. An awareness of contemporary Spain certainly helps, as much that we Americans consider passe was fairly new over there at the time (not in 2001, alas.) Fele Martinez at his best, too.
12 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Another Magnificent Thriller of Alejandro Almenábar, the Best New Director of Thrillers Arose in the 90s, 29 February 2004 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Spain, Ángela Márquez (Ana Torrent) is a student of cinema preparing her thesis about the violence in the media. She approaches to the strange student of an another class, Chema (Fele Martínez), who is fan and has a collection of violent movies, to improve her research about this theme. She is receiving orientation of Prof. Figueroa (Miguel Picazo), who finds a `snuff' movie in the library of the university, showing the death of another student, Vanessa, violently killed by a man. While watching this film, Prof. Figueroa dies, and the new professor assigned to give orientation to Ángela, Jorge Castro (Xabier Elorriaga), questions many points in her thesis, inclusive the achievement of information. Meanwhile, Ángela is introduced to Bosco Herranz (Eduardo Noriega), a handsome and nice student of the university, and she suspects he made the violent movie and killed Vanessa. The plot is only resolved in the end of the film. The first film directed by Alejandro Almenábar that I watched was `Abre Los Ojos'. This masterpiece is very unknown here in Brazil. `Abre Los Ojos' is only available on VHS, and it certainly is in my list of the best thirty favorite movies. The common viewers only know the sophisticated and spoiled Hollywood version `Vanilla Sky'. The pretentious, wealthy and ham actor Tom Cruise impaired one of the most original screenplays ever made. Then I watched the marvelous `The Others'. Last month, his first movie, `Thesis', was released on DVD in Brazil. Yesterday I saw this magnificent low budget thriller. A very simple and realistic story, which keeps the viewer in tension until the last scene. There is no clichés, the performance of the cast is very credible, and it is impossible not to like this film. I did not know the meaning of `snuff' films. Based on these three foregoing mentioned movies, I dare to say that Alejandro Almenábar is the best new director of thrillers arose in the 90s. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): `Thesis - Morte Ao Vivo' (`Thesis - Death Live')
14 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Brilliant, but Blunt, 5 December 2000 Author: Foggy-7 from Boston, MA
A brilliant, gritty thriller more in the style of an American film noir than anything else. This film, more a statement on the appeal of violence in the media than anything else, deserves credit for the way it handles the characterisation of Angela, Chema and Bosco. Without giving away too much of the plot, this is a film that is not a mystery, but an indictment of our own human fascination with snuff films and death. The message communicated by the last scene should be as subtle as a full moon, but feels natural.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Terrifying And Intelligent!, 12 July 2006 Author: Benjamin Gauss from Salzburg, Austria
"Tesis" is not only a tantalizing Horror Thriller, but is also an intelligent study of people's fascination with death and the imagery of death. Several movies about the topic of snuff films have come up in the last several years (8 MM, for example), this one is definitely the best.Angela is a young woman who is writing a thesis on violence in the media, in order to get her degree in communication science. Doing research, she gets to know Chema, a fellow student who is obsessed with violent movies. Angela finds a snuff video of a girl tortured to death, Chema recognizes the girl as a former student from their school, who disappeared several years ago. Angela and Chema get themselves into great danger, trying to find out who killed the girl.Thrilling from the first to the last minute, and sometimes quite shocking and disturbing, "Tesis" is a movie that will definitely not disappoint you if you're looking for suspense. But not only is the movie thrilling and entertaining it also makes some very interesting points in the questions why people are fascinated with death and violence, what the effects of fascination with violence are and how media are dealing with it. I'll never forget the beginning of the movie, when a suicide occurs in the Madrid subway and Angela, although she doesn't want to be 'fascinated with violence', can't help but try to get a look at the dead body.The acting in the movie is very good, specially Ana Torrent as Angela and Fele Martínez as Chema. A good cinematography supports the suspense and the thrilling atmosphere. Alejandro Amenábar did a great job writing and directing this movie, one of the most thrilling of the 90's. A great horror thriller, researching people's fascination with violence and death, 'Tesis' is disturbing, terrifying and intelligent! 8 out of 10!
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Very good first feature, 31 January 2002 Author: vostf from Paris, Fr
A promising director: it's what I thought after the screening of Amenabar's first feature. There is a compelling story told with bright creative ideas.Eventually I felt the first part of the movie was really great and the following went a little under. Sure, it is more difficult to bring all sorts of things together after you built up an exciting suspense. Still you don't feel bored once you are getting to know what it is really all about, but you got more free 'RAM space' to think it over. Perhaps accelerating the rhythm would have kept Tesis on the same high level of suspense. Perhaps it would have been a mistake to change the pace.Among things you can take away with you is the background theme about our attraction for the morbid. It opens and closes the movie and really gives it one further dimension - one could say it's a bit didactical but it's a least flaw for a first major effort.Next step Senor Amenabar: a little less personal work (as compared with the experimental Abre los ojos) but still something personal (The Others is the least interesting work so far).
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: A Clever and Thrilling Directing debut, 24 January 1999 Author: Alfonso Isaac Santos (alfonso29@aol.com) from Miami, Florida
The film begins with a subway accident and the director,using the camera to direct the audiences reactions....the true meaning of pure cinema...teases with the viewer,will they show it,I hope not but still you can't keep from watching and this is mirrored in the final moments when patients at a hospital are all held spellbound by the images on the tv screen....will they show the actual images of torture and dismemberment.This film is what Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino aspire to do but don't quite get it right....Mr.Almenabar gets it right and I can't wait to see his new film,Open Your Eyes.Surprisingly,no one has attempted an American remake yet...THANK GOD!All Hollywood knows how to do is Blow Things UP!
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Not Amenábar's best, but quite possibly the best film concerning the phenomenon of snuff films, 16 October 2004 Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark
I've seen all of Alejandro Amenábar's features, except for Mar Adentro. This is less "Hollywood" than The Others, but I do find Abre Los Ojos to be a better film than this one(have more flu-induced nightmares, Alejandro! Just kidding), more themes, perhaps. That is by no means to disregard this film... never. It is a well-done psychological horror-thriller of well-established moods and atmosphere, and the themes explored, the questions raised... the film is sure to spark debate. A feature directing debut, this fact is at times evident... it has a slow pace at times, and seemed to move at a rather bland pace throughout the film. It often jumps from a potentially exciting scene to a dull one, as well. I won't claim that the plot is ingenious... it's, in fact, almost more of a vehicle for the themes. It drives the film just fine, but if what you want is a well-crafted mystery or crime story, look elsewhere. The direction has clever moments, and is just about flawless, throughout. The film manages to be somewhat unpredictable, by having many scenes take unexpected turns, but the mystery was a little predictable, and too easy to figure out; who the villains were came as no real surprise. What I liked about it, what I really liked, was the way it questioned the idea of snuff films, and the way it further explored the reason snuff films exist... they didn't come out of nowhere or nothing, and this acknowledges that fact. It doesn't say that violence is wrong, nor does it claim that only mentally unstable people enjoy watching it... in fact, it takes a neutral stance on the subject, and lets the viewers decide for themselves... but not before showing us that even the most non-violent and emotionally stable person can - if only slightly - be driven towards watching and maybe even slightly enjoying violence, and/or being fascinated by death. Amenábar reaches out and pulls out everyone's dark side in this movie; no one who watches it will come out entirely without questioning their own thoughts about violence. The acting is good, the characters are generally well-written, the film manages to build up a lot of suspense(even though it is somewhat easy to figure out who the "bad guys" are) and tension(masterfully so). Near the middle of the film there is a truly claustrophobic sequence, which anyone suffering, even mildly, from claustrophobia will have a hard time getting through. The film carefully dodges most(!) of the typical Hollywood clichés, and manages to keep the film interesting and exciting, despite being somewhat poorly paced. All in all, a thriller which should be worthwhile to, well, pretty much anyone. It doesn't require you to be a certain age to understand it(though I will recommend that you are at least old and/or hardened enough to take the themes, and what violence is featured). This isn't about showing violence(I challenge anyone to claim or prove the violence herein can be classified as exploitative, by almost any standard), all the violence shown is there for a reason. I recommend it to fans of horror-thrillers, in particular psychological ones, fans of Amenábar's other work, and people who just like a movie to mess with their minds a little, and have their values screwed up a little. 8/10
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Effective Thriller, 6 June 2004 Author: RobertF87 from Scotland
This film is an efficient thriller from Spain. It deals with the popular urban legend of "snuff" films (films which depict a real-life murder committed purely for the sake of the film).The plot involves a young film student Angela (Ana Terrant) who is doing a thesis on cinematic violence. To research her thesis she seeks out the most extreme violence films she can find and accidentally stumbles upon a snuff film depicting the torture and murder of a fellow student from her university. She soon starts investigating the film.The film is well-made and well-acted with several effective scares and twists. It's main message is that the people who watch violent films are in some way accomplices to the violent acts that they watch. This is an old point that has been made several times before. It also deals with the attraction of the forbidden. For example, in the opening scene, Angela goes to see a dead body on a railway track, partly because she has been told not to. Just when she, and the audience, are about to see the body she is stopped. In another scene, Angela is looking away from the snuff film but takes a quick look when she is told not to.
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