Hidden Away (2014)
6/10
Simple as well as sensitive film about two teenagers are coming together , including wonderful songs
9 July 2015
Heartfelt tale dealing with two teens , regarding themes of immigration and race , but done through the eyes of youth . The picture concerns about an agreeable friendship , taking place issues about love , xenophobia and racism . It stars Rafa (German Alcarrazu) to be aware at the age of 14 the world around you changes at a dizzying speed , as he is beginning to realise that maybe his friends are jerks and racists , something that becomes especially acute when they start to pressure him to get with girls , which he isn't interested in . Along with Ibrahim Adil (Adil Koukouh) , being a Moroccan immigrant unhappily living by selling drugs or ¨Coste¨ . Both of whom are going to suffer these changes for themselves , experiencing first love in a way they never could have imagined . Rafa doesn't really care about the politics but finds himself trapped between love, basic humanity and an indoctrination of societal attitudes, in this case that 'Arabs' are wastrel, criminal scum . So that initially he thinks that the biggest problem with befriending Ibra will be the disapproval of his friends , peculiarly if they realise his intentions aren't purely platonic , but is then thrust into a situation where the stakes are far greater than he realised . It becomes clear the Spanish authorities want to deport him , despite the fact he's underage and has nobody to go back to . Meanwhile , some social attendants (Ana Wagener , Alex Angulo) attempt to help Ibrahim . And having to keep him Hidden away .

Close drama with sensitive friendship , emotion , a moving romance and racist elements ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles were pretty well developed . As their touching love story becomes extremely affecting , partly because it's so innocent and partly because it's under threat of being ripped apart so cruelly . This thought-provoking and brooding flick concerning sweet and heartbreaking story of first love given extra power by dealing with a moving portrait of racism , social prejudice and illegal immigration from Africa ; however , the picture relies heavily on the lively relationship among two protagonists . This can be the story of many faceless and nameless immigrants in any country that live in ¨Pisos Patera¨ and face uphill challenges all the way through their illegal immigration . As most of them share small apartments with other African immigrants and have menial jobs or selling dope to survive . Indeed the most effective aspect of the movie is taking what is a relatively simple story , but moving us through two young boys , but in a relatively subtle way and always through the eyes of the main roles . It may be nothing new , indeed except for immigration/racism story has been told many times , but it is charming, sometimes moving and it works . As other films referring illegal immigration/racism result to be the followings : Bwana (1996) by Imanol Uribe with Andres Pajares , Maria Barranco , ¨Cartas a Alou¨ (1990) by Montxo Armendariz with Eulàlia Ramon , Mulie Jarju ; ¨Ilegal¨ (2003) by Ignacio Vilar with Lucía Jiménez and Chete Lera and ¨The suit¨or El Traje by Alberto Rodríguez with Eugenio Roca and Manuel Moron .

Main actors and support players give splendid performances . Both German Alcarazu and Ramón Agirre as Rafa and Ibra put in extremely nice acting , which is key to ensuring Hidden Away works, as it is so based around their roles' experiences, particularly Alcarazu as a teenage boy on the verge of becoming a man , who is in virtually every scene . It may not totally get to the heart of some of the themes it raises , but it results in an exciting fresco with social fable , emotion , racism and by the end manages to be pretty touching . The motion picture was well directed by Mikel Rueda in his second one , his first was titled "Stars to Wish Upon" . Here he does a very good job of taking you into a world where what should be simple first love is threatened by a host of issues outside the lovers' control . It achieved Feroz Awards, 2015 Nominated Best Poster and Spanish Actors Union and 2015 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film : Performance in a Minor Role, Female , Ana Wagener . The film is dedicated to Alex Angulo with these words : ¨Estes Donde Estes , Gracias Por Tu Cariño¨. Alex Angulo who recently died by car accident was a veteran actor , Alex De La Iglesia's usual , who starred a lot of films such as ¨Action Mutante¨, ¨El Dia De La Bestia¨, ¨Muertos De Risa¨, ¨Live Flesh¨ , ¨El Gran Vazquez¨ and ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ .
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