''Gun City'' ( es, La sombra de la ley, links=no) is a 2018 Spanish-French thriller film directed by Dani de la Torre and written by Patxi Amezcua. Set in 1921

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the plot displays anarchist struggle and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

as a backdrop. The cast features

Luis Tosar Luis López Tosar (born 13 October 1971) is a Spanish actor and musician from Galicia. He is one of the most recognizable and versatile actors in Spain, best known for performances in films such as ''Cell 211'', ''Take My Eyes'', '' Sleep Tigh ...

Michelle Jenner Michelle Jenner Husson (born 14 September 1986) is a Spanish actress. She has starred in several films. Biography Michelle Jenner Husson was born on 14 September 1986 in Barcelona, Spain. She is the daughter of Miguel Ángel Jenner, a Spanish ...

Vicente Romero Vicente Romero Romero (born 8 February 1987) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right midfielder. Football career Romero was born in Valencia. A product of local Valencia CF's youth academy, he only appeared once for its first team, ...

Manolo Solo Manuel Fernández Serrano (born 1964), better known as Manolo Solo, is a Spanish actor. Biography Born in Algeciras in 1964, Manuel Fernández Serrano (his real name) was raised in neighbouring Los Barrios until age 6, later moving to Sevill ...

Paco Tous Francisco Martínez Tous (born 1 May 1964), known professionally as Paco Tous, is a Spanish actor. He is best known for his starring roles as Paco in the television series ''Los hombres de Paco'' (2005–2010; 2021) and as Agustín "Moscow" Ramo ...

, Jaime Lorente, Adriana Torrebejano and

Ernesto Alterio Ernesto Federico Alterio Bacaicoa (born 25 September 1970) is an Argentine-Spanish film, theatre, and television actor. Early life Alterio is the son of psychologist Modesta Ángela Bacaicoa Destéfano and actor Héctor Alterio Onorato. His ...

Plot

In Barcelona, 1921, tension is high between the police and local anarchists. A military train has been robbed and its cargo stolen. The police try to find those responsible and receive support from agent Aníbal Uriarte, who was sent from Madrid. The detectives resort to brutal methods, including murder. They interrogate the train driver and whom they suspect is part of the robbery before murdering him. Meanwhile, the center of the city hosts many protests against the unfair treatment of workers and women that are forcibly repressed by the police. A dodgy bar owner seems to be involved in the criminal business. It is revealed that the corrupt police are on his payroll. In broad daylight, an attack on them is committed that ends up being somewhat good for them. The trail leads Uriarte to a group of radical anarchists who start the war on police brutality and cause panic and chaos in the city. Between the mafia and the unions – represented by the certain Salvador Ortiz and his feminist daughter Sara – the agent tries to find a compromise and to prevent a possible premeditated coup – and further massacres – by the military, before a civil war breaks out.

Cast

Production

In Autumn 2017, Playtime was announced to co-produce and to handle international sales on ''Gun City'', a period Spanish thriller, directed by Dani de la Torre and produced by Spain's Vaca Films Studio and

Atresmedia Cine Atresmedia Cine (formerly Ensueño Films and Antena 3 Films) is the studio belonging to Grupo Atresmedia responsible for producing films. It was created in 2000. History The film production company was created after the enacting of the Spanish ...

/La Ley del Plomo with Playtime Prods. Veteran Spanish actor Luis Tosar and up-and-comer Michelle Jenner starred. Production budget was 5 million euros ($5.89 million). The film was shot in locations of

and Galicia (including the city of

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

and

Monforte de Lemos Monforte de Lemos is a city and municipality in northwestern Spain, in the province of Lugo, Galicia. It covers an area of 200 km² and lies 62 km from Lugo. As of 2017 it had a population of 18,783. Location Monforte de Lemos i ...

Inaccuracies

The firearms portrayed in the film are anachronistic for the year in which the film takes place, 1921. The Spanish soldiers in the beginning of the film are seen carrying

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...

s and

M1 Carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

s, first issued to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

military in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The stolen weapons consist of

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...

s. which were first introduced in 1921 and would likely not have been available in large quantities at the time. Additionally the character Sara carries a

Walther PP The Walther PP (german: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It features an exposed hammer, a traditional double-ac ...

during the bank robbery, which was not introduced until 1935.

Release

The film screened at the 51st

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

on 5 October 2018. Distributed by Hispano FoxFilm, it was theatrically released in Spain on 11 October 2018. The film was released on 31 October 2018 by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

.Everything Coming to Netflix in October 2018
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Accolades

, - , rowspan = "24" align = "center" , 2019 , , rowspan = "3" , 11th

Gaudí Awards The Gaudí Awards ( ca, Premis Gaudí) are the main film awards of Catalonia, celebrated annually in Barcelona. The awards were established in 2009 by the Catalan Film Academy as a continuation and expansion of the Barcelona Cinema Awards (''Premi ...

, , Best Costume Design , , Clara Bilbao , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Visual Effects , , Félix Bergés, Lluís Rivera , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Noe Montes, Raquel Fidalgo , , , - , rowspan = "6" ,

33rd Goya Awards The 33rd Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AACCE), honored the best in Spanish films of 2018 and took place at the Conference and Exhibition Centre of Seville on 2 February 2019. The ceremony ...

, , Best Original Score , , Manuel Riveiro, Xavi Font , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - , Best Cinematography , , Josu Incháustegui , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Raquel Fidalgo, Noé Montes, Alberto Hortas , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Juan Pedro de Gaspar , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Lluís Rivera, Félix Bergés , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Clara Bilbao , , , - , rowspan = "15" , 17th

Mestre Mateo Awards The Mestre Mateo Awards, known in Galician as ''Premios Mestre Mateo'', are the main film awards in Galicia, celebrated annually. The awards were established in 2002 by the Galician Academy of Audiovisual as a continuation and expansion of the C ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "15" , , - , Best Director , , Dani de la Torre , , , - , Best Screenplay , , , , , - , Best Actress , , Michelle Jenner , , , - , Best Actor , , Luis Tosar , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Adriana Torrebejano , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Ernesto Alterio , , , - , Best Cinematography , , , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Juan Pedro de Gaspar , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , María Liaño , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Raquel Hidalgo, Noé Montes , , , - , Best Editing , , Jorge Coira , , , - , Best Original Score , , Manu Riveiro, Xavi Font , , , - , Best Sound , , David Machado, James Muñoz, José Antonio Manovel , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Clara Bilbao , ,

References

External links

* on

* {{IMDb title, 7104984, Gun City 2018 films 2018 thriller films 2010s Spanish-language films Spanish thriller films Films set in 1921 Films set in Barcelona Films about anarchism Vaca Films films Atresmedia Cine films Films shot in Barcelona Films shot in Galicia (Spain) 2010s Spanish films Spanish-language thriller films