The Night of the Sunflowers (2006)

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this beautifully studied movie, in particular the deeply authentic portrayal of Spanish rural life. Had this been Hollywood we would have been treated to sweeping views and beautiful people. Here we are dealing with everyday folk in an unspectacular town which is losing all its young to the cities. Night and sunflowers don't go together. Neither do roly-poly traveling salesmen and rape. We realize from the start that something bad is about to sweep through the countryside and when it does it touches everything in its path. Then, when it has gone past everything goes back to normal. The salesman finds a shoe on his chair and the sunflowers are about to be exposed to sun again. The music adds to the sense of pervasive evil.For its effect the movie relies on subtlety rather than fast action. Everything is in the minute details. The looks between the wife and her errant husband. The two neighbors who love to hate each other. The salesman eating a chocolate biscuit while talking to his wife on the phone. The acting is low-key and superb in every way. The only part which seemed somewhat contrived was when the money was thrown on the fire. Would the corrupt cop simply have stood there and watched it burn?Some of the details intrigued me. Why did the young man show the salesman where the quarry was on the map? And why did the salesman say "Bastard" later when he was looking down at the town? The way I figured it was that when he was talking to the young man he hadn't yet murdered the girl. After he did so he remembered the quarry and decided to dump her there only to find that the man had been kidding him.It's details like that which make a movie and keep you thinking about it long after it ends. Highly recommended.

A hugely entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable experience, The Night Of The Sunflowers is a Spanish thriller which hallmarks the great traditions of European cinema, where a focus on characters and their interactions with each other is the prime driving force. Set in a secluded and seemingly serene Spanish village "Sunflowers" weaves a sinister tale of mistaken identity, love, hate and murder, which can only be described as compelling viewing. What the director Jorge Sanchez-Cabezudo is immediately noted for is his character development within the context of a story. 'Sunflowers' shifts its pace half through way throughout the film from murder intrigue to an entangled web of deceit, but all of this is shown and felt via the superb usage of the varied acting talents at his disposal. Cabezudo knows precisely what he is trying to achieve and does so with an assurance of a director with plentiful more experience, suffice to say his debut is impressive. Shot in a partially non-linear fashion it manages to portray, through chapter-styled segments, how each particular protagonist, and/or antagonist comes to be involved in this situation, providing for a greater well rounded feel and sense of fulfilment come the films finale.What is striking, though, is the theme of fractured relationships which runs vividly and often poignantly throughout the course of the film. The archaeologist and his wife and the untold issues they have who are 'seemingly' brought closer together as the shocking ordeal continues, the police deputy and his wife as he struggles through what he perceives to be a turgid and boring existence, and how he is unable to escape the restrictions imposed by his superior, and father-in-law, in all regards. Not just these, but the dealings of the elderly gentlemen on the outskirts and their eternal war of attrition, and even the title itself carries connotations of opposites being juxtaposed, The "Night" of the "Sun"flowers. The key issue revolves back to a notion of people becoming so infused and becoming so embroiled with their own side-stories, that in turn the key moment of the film is entirely forgotten. What Cabezudo intelligently points out is how we all can become distracted from what is important, that something so explosive came out of initially something so small that it makes you query characters; 'if they had done that', 'if they had done this' it wouldn't have happened. The Night Of The Sunflowers is a frighteningly intelligent, bordering on complex piece of theatre which is cleverly constructed and undoubtedly absorbing upon viewing, that actually gives the audience credit as being somewhat able to put pieces together. It is a truly good Spanish thriller that tackles not only conspiracy and murder, but the people that put themselves into these positions, and allow them to only continue and fester, becoming embroiled in revenge over justice. Whether it be the Sunflowers, roses, tulips or poppies, this is one night worth staying up for.

I really liked the film and disagree with some of the comments made earlier. Firstly, it's a Spanish movie so I can't see how it can be influenced by A Touch of Evil regarding location. Touch of Evil was set in Mexico. Secondly, I thought the 'silent' killing scene actually made a point about the two worlds that exist in Spain; the city and the countryside. The old farmer was a virtual hermit and barely existed in the modern world as represented by the Cavers. His near silence was mentioned by one of the characters who said that old Cecilio barely speaks.Regarding the ending, I would say that the strongest character was the old Police Officer. Despite his frail appearance, it is clear that his mind is still sharp and he still has a strong moral code - unlike his son-in-law. What I liked about the movie was how the moral conundrum forced the viewer to consider what they would do if placed in such a situation. I don't think the killing would ever be seen as an 'accidental'death. In his anger, the caver attempted to kill the farmer. They entered the house with this intention.Overall, I felt it was a really powerful movie and will surely be remade by Hollywood.

This movie is outstanding. The non-linear plot reveals itself little by little taking you by surprise at every turn. It all begins with a rape which already happened a day or two ago. The body is found in the middle of a field of sunflowers. All of this, we get it second hand from TV newscasts while the main characters carry on with their ordinary lives somewhere else. We -the viewers- are lead to follow a caver about to explore a virgin cave near a remote village, his girlfriend, two old disgruntled neighbors on an abandoned village who can't stand each other, a salesman, the disloyal police officer, ... We get to see every character from various viewpoints and how somehow their lives are connected without them knowing yet...And then tragedy and human resolve -call it selfishness or greed- take over everybody's action.The pace of revelation and the acting work like clockworks. This could happen, this is (s)pain after all.Watch out for this guy -the director- for this is his first and for sure it won't be his last.