Running Out Of Time (Dias Contados)
Picture: C+
Sound: B Extras: C+ Film: B-
Terrorism was treated in films before 9/11 as a mysterious
world in which little was known, making the stories about it good material
about a foreboding world. However, most
of those films have dated a bit since those nightmare events in New York. Running Out of Time (196) is set in
Spain, where the world of terrorism clashes with that of prostitution and
drugs. Antonio (Carmelo Gomez) is a
clean-cut guy, who happens to be a Basque terrorist determined to (with his
secret team) cause an explosive chaos near a factory and blow up a police
station. The woman on that team is his
lover-no-more, so as that goes into decline, he finds himself surprised to fall
in love with sexy lady of the night named Charo (Ruth Gabriel). This cold jeopardizes the goals of the
mission, but he just gets deeper and deeper into this new involvement.
There is also the wise junkie (Javier Bardem), who would
be more on to these things if he just was not a hardcore Heroin addict himself,
but that does not stop him from whipping out a gun when the occasion calls for
it, i.e. anytime he wants his way. The
rest of the cast is just as interesting, ranging from other distressed hookers,
to corrupt cops, to the terrorists who want change and disruption. Despite aging a bit, the film still offers
compelling viewing, and Bardem’s role is certain to attract viewers the film
would otherwise never have.
The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 is aged, though the film is dark
looking to begin with. That darkness
was also a feature in cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe’s work on Secrets
of the Heart (reviewed elsewhere on this site). This is even better work to me, which says something, because I
liked the look of the other film. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is inn Pro Logic surround form the original Dolby-A
analog release. I really thought the
sound was not bad for its time or the format, with a fullness rare in the A
format. The age of the recording helps
it quite a bit. Extras include a
half-hours worth of program extras, with a Ruth Gabriel interview that has
awful audio, and a making of program that runs over 20 minutes, plus there is a
trailer for the film.
Writer/director Imanol Uribe has a knack for making these
scenes come to life, and his material is convincing for its time. There is some chemistry here and lets hope
more Uribe films hit DVD soon.
- Nicholas Sheffo
