The geopolitics governing the Strait of Gibraltar, which narrowly divides Spain from Morocco, provides an interesting overlay for this extended cops-and-robbers epic (2014), reminiscent of Michael Mann’s Heat, about a Spanish detective (Luis Tosar) chasing a young, ambitious Moroccan drug smuggler (Jesús Castro). The distance between the continents is so small—less than ten miles—that the smugglers use motorboats and jet skis to transport their packages, which leads to some exciting chase sequences when police helicopters intercept them. Director and cowriter Daniel Monzón develops an intriguing cross-cultural romance between the criminal and a young Muslim woman (Mariam Bachir) who’s also mixed up in drug trafficking, though in the familiar denouement these characters become mere cogs in the drug economy, expendable and easily replaced. In Spanish with subtitles.
The Kid
2 hours 16 min • 2014
