Unit 7

Alberto Rodríguez's police thriller is set in Seville during the years 1987-1992, when the Spanish city fathers prepared for the 1992 World Exposition. Anxious to make a good international impression, the authorities set up a special plainclothes squad tasked with ridding the urban core of drug dealing and prostitution, giving the titular four-man unit wide latitude to do their job. Unit 7 focuses on two of the men: Rafael (Antonio de la Torre), a religion-obsessed brute with an explosive temper who treats suspects very roughly, and boyish rookie Ángel (Mario Casas), who becomes equally volatile after he starts taking some of the drugs collected during busts. Although the team wins some popular fame, they become increasingly corrupt and reckless, allowing themselves to be drawn into areas where crime kingpins hold sway and they consequently suffer humiliation. Meanwhile, Rafael's sensitive side leads him to take young addict Lucia (Lucia Guerrero) into his home in an effort to rehabilitate her, a move that goes awry. Ultimately, there will be an investigation of the squad's methods that merely illustrates how quickly politicians will turn those who have done their dirty work into scapegoats in order to save their own skins. Unit 7 may follow a familiar trajectory in its tale of how absolute power corrupts absolutely, but the unusual setting, naturalistic acting, and Rodríguez's intense direction make this an exciting (if also relentlessly cynical) ride. Recommended. (F. Swietek)