The 7th Day

Saura returns to some sort of form with this hypothetical recreation of the circumstances leading to a shotgun massacre perpetrated by two middle-aged brothers in Extremadura in 1990, which left nine villagers dead and another 16 very seriously wounded. As related by a teenage girl (whose father was perhaps the killers’ prime target), it’s a tale of unrequited love, rivalry and murderous tit-for-tat revenge between two families who’ve already argued over land. Despite some generic clichés and bits of over-acting, Saura is mostly successful in evoking the joys and pitfalls of life in a remote, rather impoverished pueblo, and – notwithstanding odd longueurs – makes effective use of popular songs and flamenco to reflect on the action. And in the dramatisation of the deadly night, his choreography of violence is as expert as ever.