El Niño (2014)

A small-time trafficker working in the Gibraltar Straits.

Director:

Daniel Monzón

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría, Daniel Monzón

Stars:

Luis Tosar, Jesús Castro, Eduard Fernández

13 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luis Tosar	...	Jesús
Jesús Castro	...	Niño
Eduard Fernández	...	Sergio
Sergi López	...	Vicente
Bárbara Lennie	...	Eva
Jesús Carroza	...	Compi
Mariam Bachir	...	Amina
Juan Motilla	...	Manolo
Moussa Maaskri	...	Rachid
Saed Chatiby	...	Halil
Ian McShane	...	Inglés
María García	...	Marifé
Abel Mora	...	Hombre del Puerto
Ales Furundarena	...	Juez Instructor
Somaya Taoufiki	...	Amiga de Amina

Storyline

El Niño is a young boy who lives in La Línea de la Concepción, close to Rock of Gibraltar, repairing and testing motorboats. After a night of party with his friend El Compi, they meet Halil, a young Muslim who has an uncle, Rachid, a drug dealer. Convinced by El Compi, El Niño accepts to be a drug mule, crossing it from África to Spain in a motorboat. In the opposite side of the law is Jesús, a veteran police officer who, helped by his partner Eva, is looking for El Inglés, an important drug dealer who operates in the Rock of Gibraltar.

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Plot Keywords:

gibraltar | two word title | drug trafficking | speedboat | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish Arabic English

Release Date:

29 August 2014 (Spain)

Also Known As:

9 mil

Filming Locations:

Gibraltar

Box Office

Budget:

€6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€2,915,634 (Spain), 29 August 2014, Wide Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Telecinco Cinema,Ikiru Films,Vaca Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Eva checks the bank accounts and finds out that there's something she can't check, the warning graphics have a typo misspelling "Juridiction" instead of "Jurisdiction".

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Torrente 5, El Corredor del Laberinto... (2014)

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Soundtracks

Niño sin miedo
Written by India Martínez, Riki Rivera and David Santisteban
Performed by India Martínez feat. Rachid Taha

User Reviews

A remarkable and highly recommended film for action lovers , being stunningly directed by Daniel Monzon

A nice Spanish thriller/action film featuring a fine cast , interesting screenplay and thrilling story ; dealing with a small-time trafficker working in the Gibraltar Straits . Studio Canal Plus and Fox released 'El Niño' punched Biggest Spanish Bow of 2014 , it had multiple box office winds its favor . Being based on real events , in fact these problems in the Strait of Gibraltar actually happen , as there abounds dope dealers , smugglers , drug lords , who carry out a dirty and dark work into a powerful machinery . As it is set in the Gibraltar Straits, which moves 500 tons of drugs a year between Morocco , Gibraltar and Spain . El Niño (Jesus Castro) is a young boy who lives in La Línea de la Concepción , close to Rock of Gibraltar , repairing and testing motorboats . After a night of party with his friend El Compi (Carroza) , they meet Halil(Saed Chatiby), a young Moroccan who has an uncle , Rachid (Moussa Maaskri), an important drug baron . Convinced by El Compi and helped by Halil , El Niño accepts to be a drug mule , crossing it from África to Spain in a motorboat but being pursued by the police helicopter . In the opposite side of the law is Jesús (Luis Tosar) , a two-fisted cop , his suspicious chief Vicente (Sergi López) and being supported by his colleagues Eva (Barbara Lennie) and Sergio (Eduard Fernandez) , all of them looking for El Inglés (Ian McShane) , a notorious drug dealer who operates in the Rock of Gibraltar . Meanwhile , El Niño falls in love for Muslim Amina (Mariam Bachir) , Halil's sister .

This exciting film packs noisy action , thrills , emotion , drama , car as well as motorboat chases , helicopter nocturnal pursuits and good pace . This is one of the most ambitious action thrillers ever from Spain , with spectacular action scenes concerning a small-time Moroccan drug runner speed boats across the Straits . Lavishly produced and intelligently written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría , Alex De La Iglesia's ordinary ; 'El Niño' marks a new hit for Telecinco Cinema and Fox , getting a big success , as it punched the best opening frame for any Spanish film this year , with a €2.9 million ($3.81 million) first weekend . The film was one of the most anticipated in a year where Spanish cinema should beat box office records . This intriguing flick concerns about two alternating stories that end up being the same along with inter-crossed roles filled with internal conflicts and ambitions . Very good acting by Luis Tosar as a veteran police officer and pretty well a young newcomer , Jesus Castro , in his film debut . Although overlong , it lasts more than two hours and some , the picture is very well realized , it has splendid action scenes with expert stunts and similarly to a USA production but without C.G.I .

Adequate and atmospheric musical score by Roque Baños (Fragiles , Machinist , Sexy beast , 800 bullets). The soundtrack is enjoyable , fits perfectly with the action scenes , and including Andalucia and Morocco sounds . Appropriate cinematography by Carlos Gusi (Torrente , Box 507) who photographs wonderfully the exteriors and interiors , being shot on location in Almeria , Tarifa , Gibraltar , Ceuta and Tangier , Morocco . The motion picture was well directed by Daniel Monzon , a former cinema reviewer , he undertakes a skill and agreeable filmmaking with some spectacular images such as the motorboat and helicopter scenes . Daniel Monzón was offered financing if he shot the movie in English but he refused because the story didn't make sense in English . He previously directed sword and witchery/fantasy (Heart of warrior) , suspense (The Kovak box), and wrote the thriller titled ¨Desvio a Paraiso¨ ; his greatest hit was the prison movie , ¨Celda 211¨ with Luis Tosar . Fox-distributed Telecinco Cinema production "El Niño," part of Studiocanal's Toronto slate , it has punched the best opening frame for any Spanish film this year . Along with fellow thriller "La Isla Minima" by Alberto Rodríguez , result to be two of the best recent works in Spanish cinema . Rating : Better than average . Indispensable and essential to see on the big screen . Well worth watching . The yarn will appeal to action enthusiasts and thriller genre fans .