Scorpion in Love (2013)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

How can you escape the circle of violence once you've entered it? With more violence? Or let's say "controlled" violence. Possible, but will our main character here be able to do so? You have to watch the movie to see that. It's a decent one, but not a great one. What seemed surprising at first, was the fact Javier Bardem was playing in it too ... might have to do with the fact another Bardem is on the cast list.Whatever the case, the main actor is doing an OK job, portraying his dilemma. The tagged on love story (with added "color", no pun intended, but "story"/character serving) feels a bit off and put on, but it's overall believable (mostly). There is some nice advice to the boxing people, but I guess nothing someone already in the business wouldn't already know.

Set in contemporary Madrid, this is a gritty and hard hitting drama that mixes a story about star-crossed lovers with boxing and neo-Nazis. Javier (exciting, hunky young Spanish star Alex Gonzalez) is a member of a fascist neo-Nazi gang, under the sway of the charismatic Solis (Javier Bardem), and they commit "actions" against migrants and foreigners. Javier is initially poisoned by hatred. But then he joins a local gym and takes up boxing. Under the guidance of the reluctant Carlomonte (Carlos Bardem), a former boxer living with his sense of failure and regrets, Julian's attitude and outlook slowly changes. He falls in love with the beautiful immigrant Alyssa (Judith Diakhate). He rejects the violence and hatred of the neo-Nazis, which brings him into conflict with his brotherhood and, ironically, his own brother Luis (Miguel Angel Silvestre), a real hothead and full of aggression and unrelenting hatred. Bardem reels back his normal intensity for a more subtle performance here as Solis. Scorpion In Love offers a fairly blunt look at contemporary Madrid which is gripped by powerful undercurrents of organised racism and violence. The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel written by Carlos Bardem, and writer/director Santiago Zannou (The One-Handed Trick, etc) uses boxing as a powerful metaphor throughout the narrative. Zannou often explores themes of alienation, identity, conflict and self-destruction and Bardem's novel is a good fit for his body of work.