Semana Santa (2002)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Pepe Danquart

Writers:

David Hewson (novel)
Roy Mitchell (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Plot:

The most spectacular Easter celebration in the World. Hosts of hooded Penitents parade through the ancient, narrow streets

Plot Keywords:

Foosball | Matador | Flashback Sequence | Video Surveillance | Hooded Figure

Cast

Mira Sorvino	...	Maria Delgado
Olivier Martinez	...	Quemada
Féodor Atkine	...	Torillo
Alida Valli	...	Doña Catalina
Peter Berling	...	Castenada
Fermí Reixach	...	Rodriguez
Luis Tosar	...	Antonio
Jorge Bosch	...	Jaime Mateo
Yohana Cobo	...	Young Dona Catalina
Carlos Castañon	...	Dr. Hidalgo
Jose M. Blanco	...	Don Manuel
Azucena De La Fuente	...	Maggi
Alexander Konheim	...	Famiani
Pablo Rojas	...	Apprentice Luis
Juan Del Santo	...	Felipe Ordonez

Also Known As:

Angel of Death (Canada: English title) (International: English title) (USA)
Semana Santa (France)
Semana Santa - Die Bruderschaft des Todes (Germany) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including a sexual assault, and language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Germany | UK | France | Italy | Spain | Denmark

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

A Wandering Star

Trivia:

Alida Valli's last film.

Quotes:

Quemada: [to tourist after Torillo knocked him to the ground] Welcome to the middle ages.

Promising Beginning, Awful Development, Terrible Conclusion

In Seville, the newcomer detective Maria Delgado (Mira Sorvino) arrives during the Holy Week and is assigned to work with detectives Quemada (Olivier Martinez) and Torillo (Féodor Atkine) in the bizarre murder of twins, killed with several bullfighter knives. Maria interviews the old lady Ms. Catalina (Alida Valli), who found the bodies, while a tourist is attacked on the streets by a masked guy with a bullfighter knife. The trio connects the cases and follows the lead to a brotherhood. The director of the brotherhood is also killed by a knife, and Maria follows her instinct and visits Ms. Catalina again in a convent. Ms. Catalina discloses her sad adolescence when Spain was in Civil War and Maria gets closer to the truth.

When I saw the names of Mira Sorvino and Alida Valli, I did not hesitate and bought this DVD. The story has a promising beginning, with a weird death and decomposed corpses that recalled me "Seven", and I was expecting a good dark movie. Unfortunately, director Pepe Danquart did not take any care in developing the characters, and his only concern seems to be a tourist travel through the beautiful Seville in the "Semana Santa". Therefore, the motives of each character are very confused, leading the movie to a terrible conclusion. Mira Sorvino seems to be upset most of the time, and the DVD distributed in Brazil is awfully dubbed in English. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Anjo da Morte" ("Angel of the Death")