25 Carat 2009

A taut romantic thriller set on the mean streets and alleyways of Barcelona, 25 Carat delivers classic, character-driven pulp fiction in gritty, pre-Tarantino style. Twenty-year-old Kay is a small-time grifter working overtime to keep her crooked father’s creditors at bay. Abel, an ex-boxer and single dad, works as a stand-over guy for a crime boss specialising in debt collection. Falling for each other, there’s one thing they both recognise: if they could ever trust one another they could pull off an ingenious scam that would set them free. — BG

“Spanish cinema rarely throws up thrillers worthy of the name, but 25 Carat is the real thing. As down-to-earth, wiry and taut as the ex-boxer it features, the picture never strays from the rulebook but brings enough verve and freshness to its gallery of archetypes to remind us that the rules are there for a reason. A first-class cast infuses this breathless yarn of life in Barcelona’s underbelly with a credibility it rarely loses… The plot twists and doubles back as the stakes satisfyingly rise, each scene turning the screws a little tighter, though leaving enough space for the script to develop the twin father-child relationships in the story…

As the emotionally damaged tough guy trying to lead a decent life, Garrido shows an unexpected gentleness, and Folch brings an unusual but satisfying optimism to the streetwise, 20-year-old Kay.” — Jonathan Holland,Variety

“Beautifully shot in a raw, handheld style that gives energy to spare, Amézcua’s film attempts the difficult task of being true to the rules of its chosen genre while also adding something entirely different to the mix and he succeeds incredibly well.” — Todd Brown, Twitch