Replacement ★★★½
POLICE THRILLER (2021)
Producer: Oscar Aibar
Interpretations: Ricardo Gomez, Vicki Luengo, Pere Ponce

The hero arrives in the province, where almost everyone in the cafe is still giving fascist salutes, and the police are guarding some very … suspicious middle-aged Germans.

Spanish cop thrillers follow us this summer, even taking us back to the always interesting decade of the 1980s, like (great) “Little Island” a few years ago. Both there and here, the protagonist is a young policeman Andres, who arrives with his wife and daughter at a seaside resort to enter the service. There, seemingly dull routines will be disrupted as he embarks on a case about the tragic death of his predecessor that will lead him into the darkest of mysteries in the small community.

Oscar Aybar faithfully follows the recipe of his predecessors in what now tends to become a permanent sub-genre – the Spanish thriller – while adding an always interesting historical element. After the Frankish dictatorship, and in a country awaiting elections that will eventually lead to its gradual democratization, the hero arrives in a province where almost everyone in the canteen still greets the fascists, while the police are entrusted with the informal duty of guarding some very. .. suspicious middle-aged Germans. They even welcome him with open arms, but he soon realizes that these are some of the most wanted Nazi war criminals who have found a suitable sanctuary in Spain.

The film is generally full of cliches and conventions, but it is the addition of some details (the 1982 World Cup that was taking place at the same time, the strange story of the doctor who helps Andres, etc.) enriches the narrative and ultimately brings out the whole. Of course, the very good acting of the main characters also plays a big role, most notably Ricardo Gomez, who embodies an uncompromising hero, pursued by his own demons, but determined to fulfill the duty that his conscience dictates in the first place. It is this persistence and commitment to purpose, in a world deeply wounded by dictatorship and in many ways morally bankrupt, that is the central axis around which the whole story develops. As the new Spain prepares for the birth, on the one hand the pangs of “birth”, and on the other the need to eradicate the cancer of the past.