THE 7TH DAY

Veteran director Carlos Saura based this film on a horrific true story, the tale of two feuding families set in the small rural village of Puerto Hurraco in southwest Spain. Trying to understand the origins of this vicious fight between her family and another, teenager and eldest daughter Isabel plays detective with a boyfriend, only to find out that the feud began 30 years earlier with a case of unrequited love, complicated by land rights. A woman named Luciano (played by Victoria Abril) was engaged to Isabel?s uncle, Amadeo, who was killed by an unstable relative of Luciano's. Since that time, Luciano?s inability to forgive or forget, plus her family?s isolation and mental instability have honed a terrible bitterness, culminating in a massacre. Stunning visuals using light and shade to illustrate the past and the future, and a script by novelist Ray Loriga add to the film?s power.