I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

La Isla Minima, also known as Marshland, is a Spanish thriller that has won ten Goya Awards, the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. For once, this film truly deserves the praise it got. The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of two teenage girls in the desolate countryside deep in Spain's south. Two homicide detectives need to work together and soon uncover more mysterious disappearances related to their case.There are numerous elements that make Marshland an outstanding movie. One element are definitely the landscapes and locations. The southern marshland looks desolate and raw as one can discover both beauty and despair in such a place. The movie takes us into shady bars, into spare hotel rooms, on dusty roads and into numerous abandoned and isolated buildings. Most characters don't really like to live in this place which has an impact on the gloomy atmosphere of this movie.A key element behind this movie's success are its two charismatic main characters. Pedro Suarez is a young, motivated and ambitious homicide detective who is openly critical of Spain's past during the Franco dictatorship. His critical and direct attitude helps him to solve his cases but it also creates conflicts with his more conservative superiors which is the reason why he got sent away from the Spanish capital to the marshland. On the other side, Juan Robles seems to be a calm and sociable homicide detective who doesn't question his superiors and who gets along with local people which helps him to get more information than his colleague because people trust him and don't only see him as police officer. On the other side, he can get quite brutal and emotional at times and seems to have a shady past as well as a dark future.Another convincing element of this movie is its mixture of genres. Even though it is mainly a thriller and focuses on a story with a few gruesome twists, this movie is also the portrait of a country that is going through important changes. The movie takes places in the early eighties, just a few years after the end of the brutal Franco dictatorship. Some characters desire to embrace democracy, move on and open the country towards the world. Others are still stuck in the old system and use bribes, corruption and violence to become or remain influential. Some characters seem to be lost between both worlds as they face demons from the past but are also afraid of what lies ahead. This movie is an authentic drama, historical portrait and character study all at once. It's also a road movie as the main characters walk, drive or take the boat to investigate their case in the marshland numerous times.To keep it short, Marshland is a very convincing thriller that stands out thanks to a coherent yet diversified mixture of genres, two very interesting and profound main characters portrayed by the excellent actors Raul Arevalo and Javier Gutierrez and atmospheric, charismatic and unique landscapes and locations. La Isla Minima is one of the very best thrillers in recent memory and I would definitely recommend it and watch it again myself.

First, I must say that I speak Spanish and that makes my experience a little different than people who watched with subtitles. What an astonishingly well-made movie. The acting is suburb, and the cinematography is nothing short of magnificent. This movie is an emotional roller coaster, containing moments of heartbreak, suspense, and relief. The Marshland is set in 1970's Spain, at the end of the fascist Franco regime. The two main characters, both detectives, appear to be polar opposites when it comes to ideology. This strain between the two protagonists adds a lot to the tone and the direction of the film. There are many unpredictable moments. There aren't many boring moments, overall the film keeps the audience engaged until the end when the suspense builds up to a satisfying finish. Excellent cinema, I'll definitely be looking forward to more great movies coming out of Spain.

Marshland is slow burn, albeit entertaining and intriguing police procedural that takes place in a rural Spain during 1980. In addition to this police investigation we have an interesting character study, as we get to know the two detectives Pedro and Juan. The photography in particular is splendid. There was something very trance like feel in this movie, especially the weather n the locations. The music too was good. I enjoyed true detective the mini series. Marshland comes very close to true detective. Also while watching this film, memories of murder came to my mind. The Superb photography, memorable acting, music that asks questions, simmering political undertones. The cinematography was excellent. Certain scenes looked like painting. I highly recommend this to fans of true detective, memories of murder, prisoners and the abandoned (2006).

Another film where men are all potentially rapists or murderers and women are all white doves or helpless does.It is really a dangerous world for a woman to live in, where around every corner there is a man waiting, interested in exploiting your purity and spoiling your wish of freedom.The historical setting of 1980 should not mislead: what is represented here is the alleged, unlikely universal bondage of womankind so dear to some cultural propaganda. A thin wire ties up every man, young or old, engaged in his main vocation: violence and exploitation of women, hopeless victims always portrayed as locked in cages: a home for a wife, a single-sex school for a female student, a guest-house for a inn-keeper, a boat for a fool.So women are captive, and men are the dogs overlooking them or the wolves preying on them, and even when men are supposed to seek for some justice in their behalf, they hide a past of violence, hatred and probably a prostate cancer.