El Niño

Alberto Luchini, Metropoli

“Monumental.  Not only one of the best thrillers ever made in Spain, but one of the best thrillers ever from the past decades”.

Carlos Boyero, El País

“Brilliant visual directing shot with character and zeal (…) Impeccable in many ways, its visuals are powerful and the persecution scenes reveal great virtuosity”.

Luis Martínez, El Mundo

“A flawless thriller that regains the tactile experience of the genre (…) We attend a cinema turned into a near physical experience”.

Sergi Sánchez, La Razón

“An icon, like that of Malamadre in Cell 211 … The ultimate test that proves it’s still possible to make a quality commercial film in Spain”.

Eduardo de Vicente, El Periódico

“On a par with the greatest American blockbusters, but with a lot more familiarity and soul”.

Federico Marín, ABC

“Genre cinema of the best kind (…) Its credibility turns miraculous when speedboats and helicopters irrupt onto the scene.  Tosar, Eduard Fernández, Bárbara Lennie and Sergi Lopez blend in to such an extent it’s almost shocking not to see Captain Philips around (…) This Niño is larger than life and can deal with anything”.

Carlos Marañón, Cinemanía

“It launches a new designation of origin that’s one of a kind (…) The helicopter chase scene in the dark of the night has already become a milestone in Spanish cinema”.

Jordi Batlle Caminal, La Vanguardia

“A solid and vigorous thriller as elegant as the ones Siegel, Frankenheimer or Friedkin used to make”.

Francisco Marinero, El Mundo

“It surpasses Cell 211.   The well-devised plot so carefully woven by Monzón and his co-writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría even allows for an incredible documentary about the bustling activity of freight containers in the Port of Algeciras and of the police who work to spot the drugs in ever more sophisticated hideouts.  The way in which the patrol car operations and the helicopter maneuvers to stop the speedboats transporting the drugs across the Strait are staged is even more spectacular and credible, something I believe I’ve never seen before in a Spanish movie and which defies any Hollywood film in terms of verisimilitude”.

Tonio L. Alarcón, Dirigido Por

“The five years it’s taken Daniel Monzón to concoct El Niño after the enormous success of his preceding film Cell 211, have served to allow him to construct a piece of crime film more ambitious than the previous, an in-depth analysis of the drug trade introduced into Spain through the Strait (…) with greater maturity in eloquence leading to more solid, emphatic results”.

Hobby Consolas

“It keeps the spectator glued to the seat, be it the perfect unfolding of the plot, the spot-on dialogue, or the spectacular views”.

Joan Pons, Fotogramas

“It can easily face up to any blockbuster without having to copy the American formula”.

Aullidos

“Luis Tosar and Eduard Fernández are two of the best actors of their generation and here they reprise yet another great performance”.

Iris Alcañiz, Cartelera Turia

“It’s impossible to take your eyes off the screen, blink, or have the nerve to look at the time. The two hours and ten just fly by (…) The trio made up of the young dealers – Jesús Castro, Jesús Carroza and Said Chatiby – stand out in their coordinated performances to give a global vision of the despair”.

Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter

“A compact, nicely twisting script, with classy performances and quality visuals”.

Sean Mackenney, Candid

“A triumph. Rather impressively, all the scenes were filmed without any CGI thanks to Carlos Gusi who also created the immersive riot scenes in Cell 211”.

Cristina Coco, Moviez

“Grandiose. One of the best films in the London Film Festival”.