Ìý User Rating 
Contains strong language and one scene of sexual violence
Moral compromises, missed connections and manslaughter are the staples of The Night Of The Sunflowers, a confident career-bow from Spanish writer/director Jorge Sanchez-Cabezudo. Belying the sleepy rural setting, the opening discovery of a dead girl's body strikes an ominous chord that echoes throughout. There's more physical horror down the line, by turns brutal and tragic. While the atmosphere and acting are highlights, arguably the chief appeal of this grim thriller lies in joining the dots of its segmented, time-scrambled storyline.
Without overcomplicating matters, Sanchez-Cabezudo chops his plot into six overlapping parts, each shining the spotlight on a different character. In the first, The Man At The Motel, we witness a travelling salesman's (Manuel Moron) terrifying sex attack on Gabi (Judith Diakhate). In part two, The Potholers, we learn that Gabi is the girlfriend of cave-explorer Estaban (Carmelo Gomez), whose desire for vengeance results in an appalling accident. Before long, virtually everyone's knee-deep in moral squalor, including the local law-enforcers: "Is justice really necessary if no one demands it?" asks bent young officer Tomas (Vicente Romero).
"UNFLINCHINGLY DOWNBEAT"
The film's vision of flawed humanity may be credible, but it's also unflinchingly downbeat, ending with more of a whimper than a bang. It doesn't help that the sinuous structure makes the characters seem more like chess pieces, nudged from one plot point to the next. So it's a good job the cast are on their mettle, with Celso Bugallo (The Sea Inside) in particular lending his ageing cop a gruff gravitas.
The Night Of The Sunflowers is released in UK cinemas on Friday 11th May 2007.
