Friday, August 4, 2017

The Heroes of Evil (2015) - Foreign Film Friday



Number Rolled: 3
Movie Name/Year: The Heroes of Evil (2015)
Tagline: None
Genre: Drama
Length: 98 minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies: Bestia Produce, Nadie es Perfecto, Pokeepsie Films
Producer: Carolina Bang, Zoe Berriatua, Alex de la Iglesia, Adan Martin, Kiko Martinez, Araceli Perez Rastrilla, Ivan Roman
Director: Zoe Berriatua
Writer: Zoe Berriatua
Actors: Emilio Palacios, Jorge Clemente, Beatriz Medina, Olivia Baglivi, Nacho Coronado, Macarena Gomez, Paula Soldevila, Roman Rymar, Beatriz Olivares, Zoe Berriatua, Laura Castillo, Javier Manrique
Stunt Doubles: None

Blurb from Netflix: Three teenage misfits find camaraderie in sex, violence and petty crime. But what starts as a lark soon threatens to damage them beyond repair.


Selina’s Point of View:
This film seemed a little weird to me.

I don’t believe the music matched what was going on in the film. It’s possible that what I believe is an issue is actually some kind of trend in cinematics from Spain, but it still didn’t sit right with me. Nothing hit quite as hard as it should have because of that.

I had some other minor issues, but for the most part the film was phenomenal.

Emilio Palacios (Servir y proteger, El Principe, 1989. Los ultimos de Filipinas) and Jorge Clemente (La Gira, La montana rusa, La pecera de Eva) were absolutely astounding in their parts. Playing the bullied, experimenting main characters, they were both believable. 


Clemente, though, stepped things up to a whole other level. He gave such a creepy and terrifying vibe to his character that I’m sure it’s going to stick with me for a long time.

The script was also well written and the scenes were well directed.

As someone who often relates to the bullied characters, it’s hard for a filmmaker to get me to acknowledge that some victims can go too far with their sense of justice. The writer/director of this film, Zoe Berriatua (Flesh Memories, Huidas, The Tip of the Iceberg), did. He managed to make my hair stand on end when things got out of hand.

I would recommend this film to people, but it’s definitely not for anyone under 18.


Cat’s Point of View:
Bullies are a life issue for many, and it’s something that certainly crosses cultural barriers with ease. I had no problem relating to this film and the misfit characters therein. I was one of those misfits for a very long time until I learned to be more comfortable in my own skin. Hell, it’s still a learning process. It was a painful and harrowing road for a while, though. I remember what it felt like to be a new kid that instantly didn’t fit in. I remember days spent with my nose in a book because ‘the cool kids’ had given all the established students an ultimatum – they could ignore me or face social shunning, themselves.

People – children and adults alike can be outright cruel for no good reason other than they can.

But I digress.

Watching this movie, I was reminded about the hubbub that came about back when Kids (1995) was released. While I don’t recall seeing that one, I’ve read enough about it to draw some conclusions – mostly in the unsupervised youth mischief department. I think this film goes to far darker places.


I feel I must commend Jorge Clemente (The Last Circus, The Misfits Club, Seis Hermanas), who played Aritz. He was so expressive in his role and his eerie and unsettling performance will likely stick with me for a while. 

I also enjoyed Emilio Palacios (Rumbos, The Open Door, Can't Say Goodbye) as Esteban. Palacios reminds me a little of young River Phoenix (Running on Empty, Dogfight, The Thing Called Love) in Stand By Me (1986). I swear it’s more than the haircut.

This movie was a simmering brooder. I am not entirely sure how I feel about it overall, but it wasn’t bad. It was gritty and unapologetic. At the same time, I haven’t decided if the ending was brilliant or if I absolutely hated it.

All told, it was decent for a teen drama. I likely won’t watch it again but I wouldn’t steer anyone away from it.


Languages
Speech Available: Spanish (Spain)
Subtitles Available: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Spanish (Spain)

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 31%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 6.1/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating4/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating3/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

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