Our verdict: four stars
This Spanish crime drama had a sticky start at the festival courtesy of a technical hitch on Thursday night which led to the cancellation of the first screening.
A through the night effort by the indefatigable Malcolm, the GFT projectionist, meant the show could go on on Friday.
Alberto Rodriguez's picture tells the story of two detectives (played by Raul Arevalo and Javier Gutierrez) who arrive in the village of Villafranco del Guadalquivir to investigate the disappearance of two young women.
One young and ambitious, the other a cynical veteran, they begin to ask questions but answers come there few.
There is nothing daring about the execution of Marshland. Like many a crime drama it relies on contrivances and red herrings. Nor do the detectives stray too far from stereotypes. Being a murder mystery, the film also relies on violence towards women for a storytelling hook. So far, so predictable.
What marks the picture out, however, is the setting. This is Spain in 1980. Franco has gone, but deep scars in the country remain. Through a conventional story of disappearances, Rodriguez portrays a country at once looking back and forwards, still at war with itself but desperately in need of peace.
Worth the wait? Si.
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