Frozen Silence (2011)
"Silencio en la nieve" (original title)

Russian Front, Winter 1943. A battalion of the Blue Division encounters a series of horses' heads scattered on the frozen surface of a lake... See full synopsis »

Director:

Gerardo Herrero

Writers:

Nicolás Saad (adaptation), Ignacio del Valle (novel)

Stars:

Juan Diego Botto, Carmelo Gómez, Víctor Clavijo

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Juan Diego Botto	...	Arturo Andrade
Carmelo Gómez	...	Sargento Espinosa
Víctor Clavijo	...	Sargento Estrada
Adolfo Fernández	...	Navajas
Andrés Gertrúdix	...	Guerrita
Francesc Orella	...	Zarauza
Rafa Castejón
Alex Spijksma	...	Hungarian Soldier
Jorge de Juan	...	Paramio
Javier Mejía	...	Capitán Barrios
Sergi Calleja	...	Tiroliro
Antonio Mora
Antanas Surgailis	...	Wolfram Kehren
Jordi Aguilar	...	Cabo Aparicio

Storyline

Russian Front, Winter 1943. A battalion of the Blue Division encounters a series of horses' heads scattered on the frozen surface of a lake... See full synopsis »

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

Spain Lithuania

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Frozen Silence

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castafiore Films, Lietuvos Kinostudija, Tornasol Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Excellent Spanish war-time murder mystery in the Russian front

The discovery of dead horses and a Spanish soldier's corpse under a frozen lake in the Russian front(with their heads visible over the ice, like in Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg") triggers an investigation lead by a former Spanish police inspector, now serving in the German army.

"Silencio en la nieve" tells a fictional story based on a real scenario: the presence of Spanish citizens in the German army during the WWII under the name "División azul". Albeit most of this soldiers were of extremely right-wing ideals, others were adventure junkies or even left-winged persons sent to the Russian front in order to help their politically imprisoned relatives.

Curiously there are only brief hints about that in Gerardo Herrero's excellent movie, which doesn't judge or excuse the character's ideals. This is practically an untold story in the annals of Spanish film history (nobody wants to film the exploits of military men who sided with Hitler), but we will have to wait for a war film about this subject (Spanish movie industry has no money for that, Gerardo Herrero dixit), because "Silencio en la nieve" is a murder mystery, and a well crafted one. The acting is superb, specially Carmelo Gómez. On a technical level, some of the special effects needed more budget (a couple of explosions seemed very CGI to me), but these problems are usual in Spanish cinema, and they are approached professionally here.

Eventually, viewers should consider "Silencio en la nieve" for what it is: well done, although not original, thriller yarn, using a fresh and never seen background. Highly recommended!