Marshland (15)

Directed by Alberto Rodriguez
Picturehouse, Liverpool
7th August - 13th August 2015

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

Set in 1980 in the wetlands, hence the title, of the Guadalquiver river in Andalusia, the most memorable aspect of this impressive thriller about a serial killer is the spectacular high-angle aerial shots, filmed with the use of a drone, of the area, by cinematographer Hector Garrido, capturing awesome and highly abstract views of forests, livestock and birds.

Franco, the dictator of Spain from 1939, and who had died five years previously, is still very present in people's minds, particularly Juan (Javier Gutierrez), one of two city-based detectives, with his partner Pedro (Raul Arevalo) investigating the disappearance of two teenaged sisters.

The economy in Andalusia is in flux post Franco. Drug dealers ply their trade on the river while farm workers strike for better pay and conditions. The discovery of their mutilated bodies adds to the social upheaval and disquiet of the region, still haunted by the dark deeds of the General.

Parallels have been put forward between Marshland and True Detectives, a TV series on Sky. However I cannot compare or contrast the two, never having seen the latter!

NERVE supports workers struggling for a living wage.

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