Boasting very high production values for a concept as dark as a 12 year old serial killer and starring Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mama Tambian, Pan's Labyrinth, El Zona), who may just be the best Spanish actress working today; could Jorge Algora and Eliana Galla's stylish thriller be the Argentinian Memories of Murder? It remains baffling why such a prestigious (and well reviewed) film should be so neglected.
Based on a true story. Buenos Aires, 1912. A series of brutal murders are sweeping the town. Mateo (Juan Ciancio), a 10-year-old boy, holds a secret: sometimes his mind guides him to a dark place in his memory where he is eyewitness to a series of murders. When his secret is revealed, many people think he is the murderer. Estela, his mother (Maribel Verdú), with the help of a forensic policeman named Dr. Soria (Chete Lera), tries to find a rational explanation for the visions and then challenge the scepticism of Petrie (Daniel Freire), the police inspector.
El Niño de Barro opened Spain in May and Argentina last week, but does not seem to have any sort distribution outside of Spanish territories at the moment. I would love to be proven wrong and have it come along in the cinema or DVD with English subs sooner than later.