109. Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben); movie review

EVERYBODY KNOWS (TODOS LO SABEN)
Cert 15
133 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

It's more than 25 years since Birmingham estate agent Stephanie Slater was kidnapped by Micahel Sams and held in a wooden coffin in his workshop in Newark.
I remember the case vividly because I was on the newsdesk of the Birmingham Mail at the time and it was the only occasion in my journalism career that a news blackout was enforced.
This meant that there were daily briefings about the police operation but nothing could be published until after the operation had ended for fear of putting Stephanie's life in jeopardy.
While we were thinking about Stephanie, who, sadly, never got over the ordeal and died in 2017, we didn't fully consider the fall-out on her family and friends.
I was prompted to think about them by the riveting Spanish thriller Everybody Knows.
At the heart of the movie is the kidnap of a teenage girl (Carla Campra) who had accompanied her mother (Penelope Cruz) back to her hometown to attend a wedding.
The intense pressure of the search prompts a blame game begins and family secrets are gradually laid bare.
Javier Bardem, Cruz's real-life husband, is the local good guy who leads the hunt while being told by the kidnappers not to tell the police.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Darín plays the kidnap victim's father whose veil is lifted even before he joins the search.
Director Asghar Farhadi deliberately based his drama in a village because the relationship between the characters is so much tighter than it would have been in a city.
Basically, everybody knows everybody although some know rather more about their friends and relatives than others.
It adds significant depth that the movie is, as Farhadi puts it: "In the heart of nature, far from the city and its hubbub."
There is a long section at the beginning of the film when this world appears idyllic as folk, wreathed in smiles celebrate a wedding.
It reminded me a tad of the nuptials in The Deer Hunter during which it seems nothing can go wrong in this simple life. How wrong the participants are.
Farhadi has built a reputation through movies such as A Separation, The Salesman and my favourite of his films, The Past. Everybody Knows keeps up his tradition of keenly observed, tense drama.
It helps that his most established cast to date are on great form.

Reasons to watch: Beautifully constructed drama
Reasons to avoid: It opening lasts too long

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? The most recent Eurostat statistics show the total number of kidnappings in the EU rose from 12,463 in 2009 to 14,886 in 2015 – a 19.5% increase. 

The final word. Asghar Farhadi: "Because I wanted to deal with the notion of secrets, and secrets being related to the past of the characters, I had to choose a society in which people are aware of each other’s pasts. If I had put my story in a big city it wouldn’t have made sense."

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