GUERREROS [WARRIORS]

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER AT 5:10PM UGC SHAFTESBURY AVE SCREEN 1

Country Spain Running Time 96 mins Format 35mm Dir Daniel Calparsoro Prod Enrique L ¬pez-Lavigne S'play Daniel Calparsoro, Juan Cavestany DoP Josep Civit Cast Eduardo Noriega, Eloy AzorÃn, Rub»n Ochandiano Print Source Sogepaq Internacional E sogepaq@sogepadis.es

A unit of army engineers, belonging to the Spanish Security forces in Kosovo is ordered to repair a power station which has left a group of border villages without electricity. The only problem is that the plant is in the exclusion zone where the Serb-Albanian conflict is raging. All goes to plan until they lose their only translator and diplomat to a mine. The focus of their mission shifts from life-saving to personal survival. As the lost Spanish contingent wanders behind enemy lines the young, inexperienced soldiers become involved not only in an armed conflict but also in an inner struggle with their own convictions and beliefs.

The director successfully portrays a wide spectrum of different characters. Eduardo Noriega (Tesis, Open Your Eyes) is impressive as a lost and confused leader. He suddenly finds himself in a position where military laws don't apply, where training and experience don't help, where the only rule is survival, but unfortunately he is incapable of leadership.

There are some brutal moments, notably when the contingent gets captured - first by Albanians and then, having managed to escape, by Serbs too. This film's main force comes from the in your face images of the captured and tortured soldiers who were there to help not to fight. AK

Born in 1968, Daniel Calparsoro has been writing and directing films since 1995, when he made his debut with Salto al Vacio (Leap into the Void). Invariably taking the helm at productions of his own scripts, his subsequent projects include Pasajes (1996), A Ciegas (1997), and Asfalto (2000).