I went into this film having seen some of the directors other work. I loved "Celda 211" and the crazy adventure-fantasy "El Corazon del Guerrero" (absolute must see). So I had pretty high hopes. I was however slightly disappointed. A pretty bland and in my opinion uninspired film. Yes, it had some great action sequences, even though I wouldn't go as far as to call this an action movie, and some great locations and visuals. But it was a pretty routine rise and fall story of a trio of young friends wanting to make it in the big boys business. For me it was lacking the tension this type of 'cops and criminals' film needs. An edge and rawness that "Celda 211" most definitely did have.The best parts for me were amongst the policemen and -women. They were also the best played out and parts acted. Louis Tosar is always great and I hope we will (and already are) be seeing more of him in international productions. It was the young ones that didn't quite nail it. A trio of pretty simply written characters (even reminding me of early John Woo characters, like in "A Better Tomorrow"). The Halil character was just to young and innocent looking for the part, the overzealous Compi was the cliché dumb guy and sometimes pretty annoying and the steelblue eyed Nino didn't really have that many expressions and came over pretty wooden. Even when he meets and eventually courts the beautiful Amina, his demeanor doesn't change at all. All this plus an underused (permanently hidden behind sunglasses) Ian McShane made a potentially great story a disappointing view.Comparable in subject matter but way more exhilarating are "The Business" and the recent "Gibraltar".

El Nino lives in La Linea just outside the Rock of Gibraltar; he earns a meagre living repairing other peoples' luxury boats. One night his best mate Compi talks him into doing something to earn a bit of extra cash and he introduces him to Halil. Hali's uncle, Rashid, is a big time drug smuggler and he uses the short route across the straits of Gibraltar to get the drugs across from Africa. El Nino and co are soon put to work dodging the cops on the dangerous run.We also have the police in the shape of duo Jesus and Alma who have been after these guys for two years. They have been focusing on El Ingles (Ian McShane) who operates on UK territory from the Rock and is outside their jurisdiction. But the drug guys have more cash than is decent and are allegedly bribing the cops to get the job done - badly. We also have the affairs of the heart that are at the centre of the main protagonist's lives and more than a fair dose of action. This is not high octane but it is full of thrills and at a run time that exceeds two hours it is impressive that I was kept hooked until the very end.This is from director Daniel Monzon who also brought us 'Cell 211' which was rather good too. If he keeps up the quality with films like this then I think he will have a very bright future. In Spanish with some English and with good sub titles - this is one for those who like a bit of action but also a good helping of well construed plot to accompany the thrills.

El Nino (the Kid) is another European thriller was directed by Daniel Monzon whose lately delivered the excellent CELL 211 (winner of the Spanish Goyas; equivalent to the Oscars) and the very solid THE KOVAK BOX. Comparing his previous efforts; t is easy to realize that he growing as a director in every movie.As in the previous movies; character development and social aspects; are more important than empty action; violence or special effects.Everything happens around the Strait Of Gibraltar; a narrow strait (9 miles) that separates, several cultures; Morocco, Ceuta (Spain) and Gibraltar (controlled by the British). The place is the used by to traffic Hashish (and harder drugs) to Europe. Several characters cross paths; El Nino (an extreme, no fear boat mechanic and driver played by first time actor Jesús Castro) and his friend El Compi (Jesús Carroza; really funny and likable ) team up with Halil (Saed Chatiby another first timer; also very funny, likable and with a very interesting acting rage ) and start moving hashish from Morocco to Spain.None of them are really criminals; just young people living on the Spanish crisis or Morocco misery trying to make some money to solve their own miseries.On the other side; Jesus (Luis Tosar) obsessed to catch a British drug dealer who is always ahead of him and is destroying his career and reputation. He and his best mate Sergio (another outstanding work from Eduard Fernandez) are assigned to flight every day on an helicopter to catch speed boats crossing the strait.Monzon keeps the character pretty realistic. The young criminal are far from experienced but feel nobody will catch them; and the cops do not risk their lives too much (as an American movies). They are just underpaid government employees. Corruption is everywhere and they have no means to do anything.There is not a lot of action or violence in the movie; but the few sequences are really very good. The first boat chase; builds tension and suspense; but the second; is perfectly crafted; none of them seems to be just digital post production.As good as the acting, environment and setup; the movie loses points in because an excessive length (2h 10 minutes) and the limited acting skills of Jesus Franco. The guy is fine and is able to carry the movie but a little more rage could have helped the character.In brief; a very solid thriller; that requires certain knowledge of that part of the world but pretty atypical

This is the sort of film that gets me excited about the level of talent that is present in Spain. El Niño is a Cops and Robbers (well, Cops and Drug Mules!) movie in inimitable Spanish style. It revolves around a couple of small town hoods, El Niño (Jesus Castro) and his pal El Compi (Jesus Carroza) who want to get into the drug smuggling business in the Gibraltar stretch.One boat ride across this stretch is all they need to smuggle their drugs into Europe from Africa. Of course, they have obstacles in the shape of Jesus (Luis Tosar) and Eva (Barbara Lennie), two cops who are trying to crack down the drug smuggling business as they chase El Inglés (Ian McShane) a Englishman who's a Gibraltar kingpin in this business, and who will cross paths with the young hoods.The tale carries a steady pace, with some exciting and some I-don't-know-how-they-shot-it action scenes that are truly thrilling. It still has the usual tropes of a love story blooming amidst the chaos, a disgruntled cop who can't find his crook. But the film also restrains itself when necessary and has a formal beauty that matches its grand storyline. It's truly ambitious cinema and well worth the price of admission.