Proyecto Dos (2008) Online

The best movie in the Malaga Film Festival, for sure.

"Proyecto Dos" is a thriller that, at times, screams Tony Scott. And that's an oddity in Spain. It is also quite uncommon to see the film's rhythm in Spanish cinema too.

But it had something extra that keeps you guessing: it is a film about identity crisis that deals with the matter "What if I am not unique in the world?" not in terms of ego, but poses the troubling question "What if my memories, my achievements, my emotions, are borrowed?".

I don't know if there is enough scientific evidence to sustain the film's premise, but I found the result challenging and highly entertaining. 9 out of 10.

After what seemed an endless parade of the same old clichés in Spanish cinema (down to earth comedy, ETA, boring introspection, plain cinematography, tiresome editing, reliance on the Filmax horror clichés) this film, 'Proyecto Dos', came as a much needed breath of fresh air.

The very first sequence is, simply put, stunning. The cuts and visuals - quite reminiscent of those of Tony Scott - rose eyebrows as a solid Adria Collado delivered his speech about how brain mistakes can create deja vu. All this was told in parallel with a private wake were a guy is putting inside a small box someone's personal belongings before saying "Farewell, my friend". Only when he closes the box we realize that the character who is speaking about having all those deja vu is really dead. All the visuals and editorial effects were so cool and never before seen in Spain that you are already transported to a different way of seeing the movie.

And that way is mainly non stop action and intrigue. All the time you are guessing what comes next. Probably one of the most shocking moments happens when **SPOILER** the main character is killed by a bus at minute 20 or so and, then, shortly afterward, he is entering is home **END OF SPOILER**. The plot thickens with each sequence and the more we learn about the main character's wife, the more interesting the characters become in this thriller about identity crises.

Lucía Jimenez - one of Spain's most beautiful and idiosyncratic actresses - is superb in her role of wife who keeps a huge secret, and show the expected prowess in the action sequences . She has the big, strong physic for that and she really delivers.

But the real standout of the movie are the last 40 minutes. No Spanish movie has ever attempted - and succeeded in doing so - to have that non stop action, including car chases, explosions, gunshots and a three-way parallel masterfully solved. The emotional climax on the rooftop is equally well solved in way that is quite reminiscent of Alejandro Amenábar 'Open your Eyes'.

In short: the best Spanish thriller ever and - hopefully - a film that can show the way for different things in the predictable world of Spanish cinema.