The Hidden Face

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The Hidden Face (Spanish: La cara oculta) is a 2011 Colombian thriller film directed by Andrés Baiz. It stars Quim Gutiérrez, Clara Lago and Martina García. The film was remade in Bollywood titled Murder 3 (2013) and in Mexico titled Perdida (2019).

Plot[edit]

Adrián (Quim Gutierrez), a young orchestra conductor is viewing a recorded video of his girlfriend Belén (Clara Lago) informing him of leaving him. Adrián becomes distraught. While drinking away his sorrows at a bar, he meets Fabiana (Martina Garcia) and they develop a relationship. Fabiana moves into the house that Adrián was sharing with Belén. Strange things begin to occur in the bathroom, with Fabiana observing strange noises coming from the sink and bathtub, and being scalded by an abruptly hot shower.

Adrián becomes a suspect in the disappearance of Belén, however, the investigators can find no evidence of Adrián's involvement in Belén's disappearance. One of the police investigators, apparently a former boyfriend of Fabiana, warns Adrián that if anything happens to Fabiana he will kill Adrián.

It is revealed that the house is owned by a German lady, Emma, who shows Belén a secret room built to hide her husband just in case someone came to look for him because he was a former Nazi SS officer. The room is self-contained and sealed off from sound. On Emma's suggestion, Belén, jealous of Adrián's flirtatious relationship with one of his violinists, Verónica, decided to pretend she is leaving him. She records the video saying she is leaving as she hides in the secret room. The room has some one way mirrors where she can observe Adrián's reaction. When she decides he has had enough she looks for the key and realizes she lost the key and is now trapped in the room with no way to contact Adrián.

Fabiana finds the key to the secret room, but she doesn't know what it is used for. Fabiana eventually figures out that Belén is trapped in the house because Belén is able to communicate through tapping on the pipes in the secret room, creating ripples in the full bathroom sink. As Fabiana is ready to open the door, she pauses and decides not to rescue Belén because she might lose Adrián.

Fabiana struggles with her decision, but decides to open the door and check on Belén because she can't get a response from her. Also, one of the investigators gave Fabiana pictures of Adrián and Verónica and she herself feels the pangs of jealously. As Fabiana is checking on Belén laying in a bed in the secret room, Belén surprises Fabiana and knocks her out and leaves Fabiana locked in the room. Belén decides to leave the house. She leaves the key to the secret room on a bed for Adrián to find and leaves a picture of the two of them taped to the mirror that acts as the door to the secret room. The final scene shows Belén sitting on the beach alone and Fabiana trapped inside hoping to be rescued.

Cast[edit]

• Quim Gutierrez - Adrián
• Clara Lago - Belén
• Martina García - Fabiana
• Marcela Mar - Verónica
• Juan Alfonso Baptista - Police agent
• Alexandra Stewart - Emma

Reception[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews.^[2] Jonathan Holland from Variety wrote: 'Andi Baiz's ambitious follow-up to the well-received Satanás does decent crowd-pleasing work, supplying the requisite jolts and nervous giggles en route to a payoff that's much stronger than its wobbly setup. But the pic ultimately fails to marshal its effects into anything more than throwaway entertainment.'^[3] Chris Hewitt from St. Paul Pioneer Press gave a positive review, he wrote: 'I'm not sure La Cara Oculta can stand up to much scrutiny — there's at least one gaping plot hole — but it's plenty of fun while its 93 minutes are zipping by.'^[4] Jordi Batlle Caminal from Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia described the film as '(according to its own director) a tribute to Hitchcock's Rebecca, Suspicion and Notorious.. The Hidden Face reveals itself as a suspense film well filmed and effective, willing to style and smoothly: tension is uniform and never decays.'^[5]

References[edit]

1. ^'Cara Oculta, La'. Box Office Mojo.
2. ^'La Cara Oculta (2012)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
3. ^Jonathan Holland (3 October 2011). 'Review: 'Bunker''. Variety.
4. ^Chris Hewitt. ''La Cara Oculta' review: Colombian mystery eventually gets a clue'. St. Paul Pioneer Press.
5. ^Jordi Batlle Caminal. ''La cara oculta': Suspense bien filmado'. La Vanguardia (in Spanish).

External links[edit]

• The Hidden Face on IMDb
• The Hidden Face at Rotten Tomatoes

A face without a face - an unmasking that leaves the mask.Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another; the last one created the Faustian Empire. Where and when will the Face next appear, and who will he - or she - be?Dayraven, son of a great hero, A face without a face - an unmasking that leaves the mask.Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth.

Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another; the last one created the Faustian Empire. Where and when will the Face next appear, and who will he - or she - be?Dayraven, son of a great hero, returns to Faustia after years as a hostage of their rivals, the Magians.

Those years have changed him, but Faustia has changed as well; the emperor Calvo now seems eccentric and is controlled by one of Dayraven's old enemies. Following the brutal murder of his old teacher, Dayraven is drawn, together with a female warrior named Sunniva, into the search for an ancient secret that would change the fate of empires.The Hidden Face is an epic fantasy novel drenched in the atmosphere of the early Middle Ages and in Kabbalistic riddles and is the first book in the Fifth Unmasking series.' 'Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another.'

That, right there, is an ambitious opening to a cover blurb. It promises BIG things, with a mythology that doesn't just color the world, but which dominates it. It's risky, and I likely would have passed, were it not for the fact that I'd beta read the first 100 pages earlier this year, unencumbered by the blurb.Having said all 'Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another.'

That, right there, is an ambitious opening to a cover blurb. It promises BIG things, with a mythology that doesn't just color the world, but which dominates it. It's risky, and I likely would have passed, were it not for the fact that I'd beta read the first 100 pages earlier this year, unencumbered by the blurb.Having said all that, The Hidden Face (the first book of the Fifth Unmasking) does live up to its blurb. Flynn has crafted an historical fantasy that is as innovative as it is exciting. He establishes a culture that is just familiar enough to be accessible, but enhanced with a wealth of little details that make it all his own. Similarly, the mythology (and the accompanying history) is absolutely fascinating, so much so that there were times I almost chafed against being drawn back to the story.At its heart, this is something of a quest fantasy, complete with riddles and puzzles that challenge the reader almost as much as they do the characters.

I hate to make the comparison but, yes, this is like a fantasy version of The Da Vinci Code, by way of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, taking us through hidden rooms, mysterious tombs, and forgotten corners of the empire. It's prophecy-heavy stuff, which may turn off some readers, but it doesn't feel cheap or overused here - it's an aspect of the mythology that just fits. It's also a book that's heavy on dialogue and exposition, but that aspect is necessary to the solving of the mysteries. For every reader who might complain there's too much talking through puzzles, I am sure there'd be two more who would complain it all came too easily if we didn't have visibility to those thought processes.In terms of characters, the rivalry between Dayraven and Astolf is a driving force behind the story, right from the opening pages, but there is a solid backstory to their shared animosity. I took a little longer to warm up to Sunniva, more because it was so clear that she and Dayraven were 'meant' to be together than anything to do with her, but she is a kick-ass heroine who grows as the story races along.

The Twister, however, is one of my favorite characters (next to, perhaps, Malombra), and definitely the most intriguing. He is clearly damaged goods (if not outright mad), with a weirdly erotic sort of power fixation on his hump, but he's one of those characters who make you smile every time they step onto the page.Although there are some dark themes and some violent scenes, The Hidden Face is a fun read that has something new and unique around every corner. I might have liked a little more clarity in the world building, and remain immensely curious about its mythology, but I loved the puzzles, and the characters were what kept me reading.Originally reviewed atDisclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration.

This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.This is one of the #SPFBO entries for this year.I picked this up hoping for good things as I have previously read another book by the same author and I enjoyed that one. This book was quite different to the previous title by this author, for example this is the start of a trilogy whereas that was standalone, and I think there was a slightly darker tone in this book too.

This story does deal with sexual exploitation and manipulation, there are a few sections I found pretty dark, and yet it has.This is one of the #SPFBO entries for this year.I picked this up hoping for good things as I have previously read another book by the same author and I enjoyed that one. This book was quite different to the previous title by this author, for example this is the start of a trilogy whereas that was standalone, and I think there was a slightly darker tone in this book too. This story does deal with sexual exploitation and manipulation, there are a few sections I found pretty dark, and yet it has some good moments too between characters.

I do think there is some alienation of disfigurement in this book and mental health, and I didn't think that was a great representation to portray, but that may be personal bias more than anything else.So this story follows the character of Dayraven, a young lord who was sent away as a hostage when he was very young. He's now older and he's come back to his homeland, but the traditions of this land are foreign to him because of how much time he spent away during his childhood.Dayraven is a man who excels at figuring out puzzles. He has been trying to reconnect with his old friend and tutor when he is pulled into a plot with the ruler of the nation.The other main character we follow is Sunniva, a young woman disguised as a soldier who is trying to find out what has happened to her father. Sunniva's path quickly crosses with Dayraven's when they find his old mentor killed and they have to team up to uncover the clues left for them about what to do next and the mysteries they seek the answers to.Overall, this was a fun read and I felt like it was fast-paced and easy. Golden set.

I did think at times that there was some issue with how characters were portrayed, particularly Twister who I felt was handled poorly on the whole, but the main characters were done well. There was a lot to like about the characters and how they come together in the end, but I am a little biased and I think I would have liked to see a more complex backstory and unravelling of the characters who are just deemed 'crazy' or 'evil'.maybe this will be explained more as the series goes on?In the end I gave this a 3.s which is 6/10 for #SPFBO and I enjoyed it despite the complaints I had.

It's a fantasy book with some good ideas and fun puzzles and I think a lot of readers would enjoy it.