Director: Jordi Cadena.
Cast: Igor Szpakowski, Roser Camí, Ramon Madaula, Alícia Falcó.
Running Time: 73 minutes.
Synopsis: A day in the life of a woman and her two children who live in constant fear of their abusive, oppressive patriarch.
THE FEAR (LA POR) is a film that needed to be made, should be watched, will hopefully be universally appreciated, but may never be enjoyed. It is an extremely difficult piece to view with its powerful and deeply disturbing portrayal of evil in all of its everyday mundanity.
The opening scene shows a teenage boy lying in bed listening to his father get ready in the bathroom. The simple repetition of his razor tapping against the sink rings like an ominous bell, tolling away at all that is good. As the father leaves for work, the boy, his little sister and their mother emerge from their rooms, only to freeze in abject terror as he returns for some forgotten item. As they stand perfectly still, we can only imagine what kind of horror he has subjected them to, and that is what Jordi Cadena does so well with his script (co-written by Núria Villazán) and direction. Their decision to never show the domestic violence on screen only adds to its impact, particularly in the dying moments of the film when we can hear it.
There is a perpetual sense of foreboding as we follow the family throughout their day. It is reminiscent of DON’T LOOK NOW, with a feeling that something truly awful will befall our protagonists. It seems almost inevitable that the situation will conclude in such an unspeakable manner that you have to will yourself, as a spectator, to the end.
What makes it harder are the sublime performances throughout. Igor Szpakowski plays the tortured teen who worries he will grow up to be like his father as something of an everyboy, playing sports, hanging with his girlfriend and looking out for his little sister. Szpakowski doesn’t play Manel as a young hero, but as a boy impotent with rage and worry for his family. This grounds the story in the grim reality that most boys don’t rise up against abusive parents, despite the physical possibility. Most families tolerate the suffering and do the best they can, an ethos that is personified by an extraordinary performance by Roser Camí as the unnamed mother.
Alícia Falcó is unbearably sweet as Coral, the little girl who believes that her father actually owns the family, her innocence shining through the filth of their daily lives. This is all due to the nameless father who, after his brief appearance at the beginning, does not reappear until the denouement, but his omnipresence is palpable throughout. Ramon Madaula is terrifying as the dad and brings a casual cruelty and cool sadism that summons to mind Sergi López’s Captain Vidal from PAN’S LABRINTH, except this fascist has no uniform.
This is a story that needs to be told as it happens far more often than we like to think. The plight of the family is one that will resonate with a lot of people and is told in a way that is chillingly beautiful. THE FEAR is an excellent, harrowing film that many will find impossible to watch again.
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