De nens

"De nens", a three hour long documentary by catalan director Joaquim Jordà, tries to picture the trial against five people accused of child abuse in Barcelona. The film allows us to watch how a real trial in modern Spain looks like (and the view isn't flattering: the judge seems specially partial, some lawyers quite unprepared, the attorney too nervous to focus on the case...), which is already enough interesting.

Some sketches and interviews, specially with local authorities and civil leaders, interrupt this trial footage. It's only by the end of the film when we start to see the big picture Jordà is showing us: the whole inquiry against those supposed child abusers may be just a way of "getting rid" of some of the accused. A number of them are members of a neighbourhood association that opposes some ambitious plan the mayor intends to carry on. This plot, which is only suggested by Jordà, reminded me of Chinatown's... but this time... it's for real!

Weak points: - careless cinematography (recording on DV shouldn't mean not caring about image quality) and sound recording, - "authorial" sequences, I think the film would be better without those pretentious theater group sketches that don't really add much.

Nevertheless, if you ever get the chance, go see it. Nobody left the room though the film was three hour long. There's a bunch of interesting and not conventional films being shot in Spain every year! Don't miss them!