El menor de los males (2007)

Director:

Antonio Hernández

Writers:

Antonio Galeano (writer)
Antonio Hernández (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 2008 (Spain)

Genre:

Thriller

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Carmen Maura	...	Julia
Roberto Álvarez	...	Eduardo
Verónica Echegui	...	Vanesa
Marta Belenguer	...	Ruth
Antonio Durán 'Morris'	...	Hugo
Xabier Deive	...	Rodero
César Cambeiro	...	Escoriza
Berta Ojea	...	Maria
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marta Gutiérrez-Abad	...	Rebeca

Directed by
Antonio Hernández

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Antonio Galeano		writer
Antonio Hernández		writer

Produced by
Alfonso Blanco	....	producer
Ramón Campos	....	producer
Luz Chouza	....	assistant producer
Pablo Gayo	....	assistant producer
David Martínez	....	executive producer
Oscar Rodriguez	....	assistant producer
Isabel Vazquez	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Pablo Martín-Caminero		(as Pablo Martín)

Cinematography by
Juan Morgade
Javier Salmones

Film Editing by
Jorge Coira

Art Direction by
Gabriel Carrascal

Costume Design by
Ruth Díaz

Makeup Department
Leonor García	....	hair stylist
Romana González	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Javier Zulueta	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Manu Gómez	....	first assistant director

Art Department
José A. Carmona	....	assistant art director
Esmeralda Díaz	....	assistant art director
Jose Ortiz Expósito	....	construction coordinator
Francisco Guardia Hippie	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Saturnino Costoya	....	sound
Bernardo Fernández Pedreira	....	sound effects editor
Juan Ferro	....	sound editor
Patrick Ghislain	....	foley mixer
Carlos Mouriño	....	sound
Miguel Seixo	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Manuel Barrero	....	digital compositor: Molinare, Madrid
Marco Checa Garcia	....	senior digital compositor: Molinare, Madrid
Fatima Montes	....	digital artist
Ferrán Piquer	....	visual effects supervisor
José Miguel Zapata	....	digital artist and digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
David Acereto	....	camera operator
Pilar Aláez	....	still photographer
José Antonio Barreiro	....	electrician
Jose Manuel Caamaño	....	electrician
Noemi Chantada	....	camera operator
Fernando Collazo	....	electrician
Ángel 'La Reina' Gómez	....	key grip
Peque Griffin	....	Steadicam operator
Berta Haussman	....	video assistant
David Melero	....	gaffer
Ricky Morgade	....	first assistant camera
Ana Portela Rodriguez	....	electrician
Guillermo Sempere	....	assistant camera
Mónica Yañes	....	second assistant camera

Editorial Department
Miguel Doblado	....	assistant editor
Miguel P. Gilaberte	....	digital intermediate colorist

Other crew
Israel García Fernández	....	systems administrator
Ana Monteagudo	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Voz Audiovisual

Distributors

• Laptv (2008) (Argentina) (TV)

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Company:

Voz Audiovisual

Cinema needs someone like Antonio Hernández!

In 21st Century Spain, where apparently censorship does not exists anymore, there is a much subtler (but no less effective) new obstacle for the artists: censorship by omission. Anything can be filmed, but, if nobody is going to exhibit, then it does not exist! It happens in all kind of arts. You can compose any kind of music, but if nobody is going to release it, that music does not exist. It is, therefore, a concealed censorship. So art is no an artifact anymore, but just mere entertainment.

Antonio Hernández, whose first film, 1979's F.E.N., is one of those never praised enough hidden masterpieces of Spanish cinema, proves to be a very courageous auteur, because despite that censorship by omission of present times, paradoxically not present in 1979 (comes to mind names as diverse as Paulino Viota, Iván Zulueta or Eloy de la Iglesia himself), he dares to show all the immorality required by the story itself.

I don't understand why we've had to wait for the Spanish election campaign to finish for being able to see this film released. I don't understand either why its showing in theaters will be (and let's hope I'm wrong) quite limited. I'm afraid this being one more of those censorship by omission symptoms that I was referring to earlier. But El Menor De Los Males is a work of incalculable value for the times we live in.

The only reason why I rated it a 9 (and not a 10) is because the plot takes some time to develop. The first part flirts with different genres in an unnecessary way, in my opinion. Also I would have preferred someone less used to comedy for the main part. But once it takes off, El Menor De Los Males converts itself into an unstoppable artifact, effective and with no concessions. An overwhelming film experience.

Sometimes Antonio Hernandez's style still reminds me of F.E.N. The closer it is, the more I like it. That's why I liked En La Ciudad Sin Límites so much, and that's why I also like El Menor De Los Males. Specially, the film's epilogue (and I'm not spoiling anything), in which some people try very hard to get things back to normal after the storm, to no avail, it's very similar to the one on F.E.N.

I only hope more films like this to be released in a moment in which globalization reaches even parcels that some years before were full of activists: Culture and the Arts!

Bravo!!!