Beneath his good-guy appearance, Antonio de la Torre always ends up surprising us with his impossible mutations. Among Javier Gutierrez, louis tosar and Antonio himself enjoy a Spanish filmography that trusts, in interpretations like those of these three, much of its added value. I insist many times that it is not the same to start from a classic gallant appearance than to go through a more common image. But physical mediocrity has its advantages. And it is that the transformations are always much more credible. Even more so in great actors like these.
In the case of Antonio de la Torre, it is even more surprising because of what he indicated at the beginning. In the interviews we are portrayed as a friendly guy, with no possible personality edges in sight (we, like any of us, cover up philias and phobias in our social relationships). But in front of the camera the monster is unleashed, the tormented guy or the improvised hero. So when we come across one of his films we have no choice but to cling tightly to the sofa or armchair to embark on the journey of mutation and confusion.
Top 3 recommended films by Antonio de la Torre
El reino
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:So far the best of the mutations I've seen by Antonio de la Torre. The unscrupulous politician turned from the centripetal force of politics towards perdition. Perhaps Manuel was not the infamous guy that he finally is, whom we meet when he is already transformed into the monster fleeing from the hunt.
But that's how things are in politics. As the film indicates, kings fall and kingdoms continue. The incessant feeling of satiety in the face of a political class here or there that is only for indecent growth and profit. The obvious notion that, as Churchill told an upstart parliamentarian, the political enemies are not on the front bench, but behind, lurking to dispose of the crown themselves.
To be a politician you have to have guts, broad shoulders and faith to pray to the goddess of impunity that confuses her principles to extend to any way of acting. Adding the benevolence of an extremely guaranteeing system even in the face of the most notorious criminal evidence, the idea remains that guys like Manuel never fall, but rather become new men and women with different names, but with dirty inheritances to deal with...
In the pursuit of the truth, all the politicians' lies are much more than that ride of contradictions assumed for the escapes forward that are the pacts and agreements. Because it is one thing to pretend for the good of the party and quite another to lie to cover under the rug the dead and the ambitions that grow under the shelter of power, transforming every politician into its shadow.
Between life and death
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:It seems that Antonio de la Torre's film career fell short in Spain and with this spectacular thriller he set out to conquer the French-speaking world. A film in which Antonio transforms into Leo Castañeda, a subway driver who is waiting for one of those endless twists from the very nature of his character.
The turning point to break the trompe l'oeil of Leo's existence is the suicide of his own son. A death seen live by Leo himself and before which he can do nothing. Under the guise of an extremely dramatic circumstance, that something else that accompanies great psychological suspense plots begins to unravel.
It may be that in the death of his son there is a hidden revenge. And that's when Leo will have to leave disguises behind and come out of his hiding place to face irreconcilable pasts despite everything. Not that it's a completely original argument. I mean the protagonist who lives a second life after having inhabited another skin. The point is that Antonio de la Torre makes everything closer, like more intense. As we uncover the loose ends, we discover that once there is nothing to lose and violence may be the only form of justice.
Group 7
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:A film in which one of Antonio's best virtues stands out. His character always moves in an anxiety that goes from his rictus to his attitude. Because the police inspector Rafael seems to be shedding what he was to become another person. And to continue in the gap, at the head of an anti-drug police unit, the process is just the opposite of what should be followed.
On the other side is Mario Casas, a young police officer named Ángel reflected in the mirror of what Rafael was when he began to face a sordid underworld that never forgets its pending accounts. Group 7 needs new types without conscience, more in the style of Ángel than Rafael. One misplaced and the other in full growth within a group that also suffers from temptations to fail to comply with its duties of controlling drug trafficking.
Under this feeling of proximity to real events, Javier de la Torre's interpretation shows us the difficult adjustment of morality, police performance and the possible excesses that come from various fronts, due to possible pacts with mafias or internal corruption that can locate to the policeman in the middle of the perfect storm.