While it may seem redundant, it’s important to remember that getting a movie off the ground is no easy feat. In the Spanish industry there are several independent productions which, in addition to growing as projects, obtain a small distribution but sufficient to have a certain visibility, especially as regards the first works. Alicante’s José Luis Estañ debuts with ‘A Dog Tooth’, a small production that shows he is facing a thriller promise.
In just 75 minutes, Estañ manages to capture the audience with a protagonist who enters a dangerous spiral of self-destruction that begins with a prologue that already introduces adrenaline to the audience. After a brutal start, Estañ, who writes the script together with Iván Eméry and Miguel Ángel Puro (who is also the protagonist), picks up the story in a seemingly calm spot, which he sets up as that calm before the storm. It’s that growing pace where you can see that the director manages the rhythms wellto this is added a story that captures, seeing how the fury grows in its main character.
Here is Puro’s work. Writer and producer of the film, he stands out for having conveyed the feeling of a cornered man who has nothing more to lose. That descent into hell that turns into a sort of phoenix resurrection, even knowing that he will have to pay dearly for the penalty for cheating his destiny, Puro knows how to bring it to the public, which captures the thriller. The interpretation of him is precisely the greatest strength of a production in which there is a talent for the genre, with certain moments that evoke the first works of Sorogoyen or Alberto Rodríguez.
A promising debut
The only drawback is that you notice too much that it is a low-cost production, which weighs down the final result. Despite the 75 flyers, a longer duration would have been appreciated to be able to explore the world of Darío, the main character. However, to be a first try, the feelings are positive, as rhythm and tone are two elements that are difficult to achieve even in stocks backed by established companies and Estañ succeeds, which allows us to see that it is a diamond in the rough that will have to be closely followed in future productions.
‘A Dog’s Tooth’ is a good start, the birth of a director who aspires to be a generational successor when it comes to thrillers, one of the most established genres in the Spanish film industry. Despite being a small production, it proves once again that it doesn’t stop you from finding interesting stories and trapping them in titles that will eventually become hidden treasures.
Note: 6
The best: The story does not lose pace and its protagonist is completely addicted to the plot.
Worse: It is all too evident that this is a low-cost production and the secondary characters work halfway through.
Source: E Cartelera
