The Night of the Sunflowers

The Night of the Sunflowers

2006 "Gripping and superb!"
The Night of the Sunflowers
The Night of the Sunflowers

The Night of the Sunflowers

7.1 | 1h58m | en | Drama

Two speleologists, Esteban and Pedro, travel to a mountainous area located in northern Spain, near a small village, to study a newly discovered cave and determine if it is of scientific interest, while Gabi, Esteban's wife, awaits their return on a lonely road at the foot of the mountain.

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7.1 | 1h58m | en | Drama , Thriller | More Info
Released: August. 25,2006 | Released Producted By: ARTE France Cinéma , TVE Country: Spain Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Two speleologists, Esteban and Pedro, travel to a mountainous area located in northern Spain, near a small village, to study a newly discovered cave and determine if it is of scientific interest, while Gabi, Esteban's wife, awaits their return on a lonely road at the foot of the mountain.

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Cast

Carmelo Gómez , Judith Diakhate , Celso Bugallo

Director

Diego Modino

Producted By

ARTE France Cinéma , TVE

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ma-cortes Intriguing thriller packed with stellar acting , superb cinematography and colorful rural landscapes . Gripping and stirring picture , set in the rural environment of the deep Spain , in which there's a fine line between genre conventions and outright clichés . It happens in the deep Spanish lands , a village in a remote and forgotten location . In the north of Spain , "Esteban" (Carmelo Gomez) and "Pedro" (Mariano Alameda) are two speleologist who come to a mountainous area to study the discovery of a cavern and determine whether it has scientific interest or is useless . They are accompanied by "Gabi" (Judith Diakhate), the sweetheart of Esteban , who awaits them at the foot of the mountain . While the cavers are exploring a cave near from village Gabi is approached by a stranger (Manuel Moron) rooted in a misogynistic past and is attacked in the nearby woods . His reaction leads to a tragic chain of events . The deeds bring together a pair of different Guardias Civiles , First Corporal (Celso Bugallo) and Tomás (Vicente Romero) . As two deputies attempt to track down a criminal who has terrorized an easy community . Formula thriller filled with gritty intrigue , crisply edition , tension , suspenseful and a little of violence . It is a story of interwoven lives structured into six parts , crossed by a web of suspense that is resolved in the last story in a surprising finale . The flick revolves around a tragic event becomes complex throughout the movie . This serious and truly original film with groundbreaking narrative results to be a fantastically intriguing story of ambition , corruption , deceiving and killing , being very well done , swiftly paced and including a twisted screenplay . Interesting theme about some potholers and authority enforcements , slipping outside the bounds of the law through their use of lies as well as half-truths ; including corrupt deputies who attempt to carry out objectives by whatever means ; however this issue has been previously treated in many other films , especially American ones . It has emotional or aesthetic resonance , even comforting in some ways , and partly because is just more attuned to nuanced variations on what might appear to be mere formula . The plot is twisted but plenty of thrills and surprises . This intelligently made picture relies heavily on a complicated plot , interweaving disparate characters , ordinary people , detectives to investigate a grisly killing and many other things . This moving motion picture contains stylistic boldness and energy . There are six regular characters faced with extreme situations, and perhaps one of the main objectives Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo got was precisely to show how the ordinary villagers can cause a situation so complicated and dramatic . It's a pretty good film in which the main and support cast give a good work there are great characters , everyone does their job perfectly . Secondary actors are frankly well such as Celso Bugallo , Manuel Morón , Vicente Romero , Cesareo Estebanez , Petra Martinez , and special mention for veteran Walter Vidarte as nutty Amós Thrilling as well as evocative musical score by Krishna Levy who has composed successful as ¨8 Women ¨, "Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets" and ¨The Fall¨ . Colorful as well as dark cinematography by Angel Iguacel . Excellent debut from Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo (writer and director) with this film "La Noche de Los Girasoles" a great Noir Cinema film set in the rural Spanish location . This is his only picture , "The Night of the Sunflowers" he would go on writing/directing series and TV episodes such as ¨Bajo Sospecha¨, ¨Velvet¨, ¨Gran Hotel¨, ¨Victor Ros¨ , ¨Hispania¨, ¨Guante Blanco¨, ¨Crematorio¨, ¨Hospital Central¨, among others . ¨The night of the sunflowers¨ is an award-winning movie such as Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Won CEC Award Best Actor Carmelo Gómez , Best New Artist : Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo , Best Supporting Actor : Celso Bugallo ; Miami Film Festival 2007 Won Audience Award Ibero-American Competition Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo won Special Mention Dramatic Features - Ibero-American Cinema Competition For the musical soundtrack ; Sant Jordi Awards 2007 Won Sant Jordi Best First Work ; Spanish Actors Union 2007 : Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Performance in a Minor Role, Male Manuel Morón ; Turia Awards 2007 Won Best First Work Best Director : Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo
dromasca "Is justice really necessary if no one demands it?" - this is the moral question that one of the characters of the film is asking at some point, and this is the key question of the film that keeps being asked by everybody who watched this very well made and surprising film noir made by first time Spanish director Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo.The unconventional setting for a thriller story is a Spanish village, living a quite life where nothing happens until things start happening - a cave is being discovered and in hope it may hide some cave paintings specialists from the big city are brought in to explore it, and a serial rapist hunts its victims in the region. In the turmoil of the events a man is killed in a conflict triggered by confusion, and the local cops called to solve the case prove to be more than willing to cover the facts in order to avoid their own lives being disturbed and their smaller or bigger lies be discovered. All settles back eventually in its apparently normal state, as no one cares about a dead man with no family or sympathies left behind. Yet, the real villain of the story remains uncaught and the ending suggests that he - also a man of family and conventions - will probably hit again.The story is told with a very sure hand, and its structure - six episodes shifting the angle of telling the same facts from one character to another - builds gradually the tension and the interest of the viewers. the director certainly knows well the background of the Spanish villages where the story is set, and its characters are human and authentic. An excellent team of actors sustains the whole movie, Celso Bugalo is especially good as the old policeman who slowly understands the dimensions of evil he is faced with and reluctantly accepts the compromise or at least part of it in order to save the marriage of his daughter, and Manuel Moron as the real criminal, hiding its evil deeds under the masque of an apparently benign sales man and good family man.Spanish cinema has brought many inventive and successful films in various genres in the last decades. 'La noche de los girasoles' combines the classical psychological thriller story set in an unusual place with an older Spanish tradition of bringing up to screen the sins of the middle classes and the dangers of moral compromise. This is a remarkable debut.
paul2001sw-1 'The Night of the Sunflowers' is a superior Spanish thriller, telling the story of the tragic aftermath of an attack on a woman, and set against the backdrop of a dying, depopulated rural town. Technically, the film's merits include an evocative score, the subtle use of visual clues, and unmelodramatic acting. But perhaps the strongest aspect of the movie is the way it allows the viewer to see events from different perspectives, and thereby not only drives the evolution of the story, but also gives it a truly three-dimensional quality. The film begins with a segment which, nearing its end, savagely reverses the audience's expectations and sympathies; and thereafter, the story is told in achronological, overlapping fragments, each one offering a different perspective on events. And because of its technical merits, the film's use of this device never damages the naturalistic mood. As events reach their conclusion, you find yourself really caring about the characters, even the ostensibly unattractive ones. 'The Night of the Sunflowers' is a fine film, that never tries to pretend to be more than it is, but which offers rewards through the care with which it portrays its world.
dylgates I really liked the film and disagree with some of the comments made earlier. Firstly, it's a Spanish movie so I can't see how it can be influenced by A Touch of Evil regarding location. Touch of Evil was set in Mexico. Secondly, I thought the 'silent' killing scene actually made a point about the two worlds that exist in Spain; the city and the countryside. The old farmer was a virtual hermit and barely existed in the modern world as represented by the Cavers. His near silence was mentioned by one of the characters who said that old Cecilio barely speaks.Regarding the ending, I would say that the strongest character was the old Police Officer. Despite his frail appearance, it is clear that his mind is still sharp and he still has a strong moral code - unlike his son-in-law. What I liked about the movie was how the moral conundrum forced the viewer to consider what they would do if placed in such a situation. I don't think the killing would ever be seen as an 'accidental'death. In his anger, the caver attempted to kill the farmer. They entered the house with this intention.Overall, I felt it was a really powerful movie and will surely be remade by Hollywood.