The
 Vincent
PEREZ
Archives

 SPAIN
2010
95 Minutes
 

Synopsis: Spain. On June 6, 1808, the Napoleonic army meets its first defeat at the hands of a single man: a drummer boy. The reverberation of the sound of his drum against the mountains of Montserrat tricks the French into thinking that there are many more Catalan soldiers than there really are, causing Napoleon’s troops to flee. When the news reaches the ears of Napoleon himself, he entrusts the Hussar captain of the Imperial Guard, Alain Maraval (played by Perez), with a mission: to hunt down the person responsible for his defeat in the mountains and behead him as a sign of punishment. The captain brings together a band of his best men and sets out to hunt down the young man known as Bruc.

Production Notes: This historical action-adventure was shot from June 15 to July 31, 2009 in the Montserrat region near Barcelona. Co-produced by Catalunya Television and Ikiru Films, the movie was budgeted at $4 million.

Reviews:

Notas de cine:
"Director Benmayor portrays Bruc as a fugitive in continuous flight, a fugitive who decides to face his enemies alone. Those enemies will be eliminated one by one using both his ingenuity and brute force. The vision of a national myth actually becomes a survival film; thus, there are similarities to American action films of the eighties such as "Rambo" and "Predator".  Some of the action and suspense scenes (the ambush in the monastery) and functional dialogue show a striking and noteworthy performance, and even the resolution of some scenes directly refers to the style of directors like John McTiernan. However, the film is pragmatic, effective and, above all, has a sincerity and clarity of vision really unprecedented in its position as a genre film."

Cinempatia:
"'Bruc' can be defined as a western duel or relentless persecution or better yet, a cross between 'Rambo', 'Deliverance', 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Predator'. In short, it is pure adrenaline with many escape sequences in the mountains, explosions with deafening gunfire and a handful of very violent scenes visuall soaking the screen with blood. One of the most entertaining films of the year."

Hoy cinema:
"The film has a simple plot, but is not devoid of those details for action movie lovers. It appears that the historical part of the story is a mere excuse to create a Spanish western. Juan José Ballesta plays the main character, less attractive when compared to the villains who are chasing him. Vincent Perez and Santi Millán interpret the roles of the evil characters. For a Spanish production, the special effects, production, and stage setting are well above average. The images of the mountains of Montserrat are outstanding. The film, directed by Daniel Benmayor from a screenplay by Jordi Gasull and Patxi Ames, plays like a tribute to American adventure films that flooded theaters in the eighties."

DeCine21:
"It is clear that the narrative is indebted to other movies 'Rambo: First Blood', and especially "Apocalypse Now" into the final stretch, but there is a serious effort to avoid imitation. Benmayor narrates with great pulse and realism... Cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz presents a vivid montage of beautiful aerial shots. What is missing is a score of greater depth and beauty in relationship to the images. The whole cast is great, but maybe Vincent Perez takes the cake for his magnificent job.

Movie Stills