English summary

Two teenage sisters disappear in suspicious circumstances in a remote village in the deep marshlands of southern Spain in the early 1980s. Two police officers who are complete opposites are dispatched to the region from Madrid. They have to set their differences aside in order to track down the suspected murderer who holds the village in his grip.
The film opens with superb aerial sequences of the marshlands surrounding the southern Spanish river of Guadalquivir. The marshy landscape that has formed the river is deceptive and unpredictable; as convoluted as the human brain. In fact, this thriller is a visual treat from start to finish; the makers have spared neither effort nor expense in their efforts to immerse the viewer in visual splendour and in the overwhelming oblivion of a forgotten Spanish village. The local residents with their hidden agendas and secrets prove to have an unprecedented feeling of solidarity. Steeped in atmosphere and suspense, this thriller won no fewer than ten Goyas (Spanish Oscars).