Unknown Origins
Unknown Origins (Spanish: Orígenes secretos) is a 2020 Spanish film directed by David Galán Galindo, written by David Galán Galindo and Fernando Navarro, based on Galindo's novel of the same name, and starring Verónica Echegui, Leonardo Sbaraglia and Javier Rey.[1][2] The film was released on August 28, 2020 on Netflix.[3] The film was scheduled to show at the 2020 Málaga Film Festival, but filmmakers pulled it from the schedule when the festival dates changed from March to August.[4]
Unknown Origins | |
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Film poster | |
Spanish | Orígenes secretos |
Directed by | David Galán Galindo |
Written by |
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Based on | Orígenes Secretos by David Galán Galindo |
Starring |
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Music by | Federico Jusid |
Cinematography | Rita Noriega |
Edited by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | Spain |
Language | Spanish |
Cast
- Javier Rey as David
- Antonio Resines as Cosme
- Brays Efe as Jorge Elías
- Verónica Echegui as Norma
- Ernesto Alterio as Bruguera
- Leonardo Sbaraglia as Paco
- Álex García as Javier
- Carlos Areces as Galván
- Roman Rymar as Felipe
- Fran Bleu as Víctor Vid
Plot
Unknown Origins' is gripping, sinister and blends wry humor. Superheroes are a symbol of hope and for a major part of the world, an emotion. 'Kick-Ass' and 'Kick-Ass 2' was an example of what happens when teens throw on some superhero outfits to fight crime. 'Unknown Origins' sees a psychotic character using comics and superheroes' origin stories to kill people and leaves a mark. One man's killed after being fed enough supplements and steroids to be the Hulk. Another has his heart plucked out and is covered in a metallic suit
Attempting to stop this is Inspector David (Javier Rey), a man who feels comics are for overgrown adults and quickly pays the price for that sort of criticism. Initially, he is assisted by Cosme (Antonio Resines), a cop on spending his final days on the force after being forced to turn in his resignation. David's boss is the homicide chief, Norma (Verónica Echegui) who loves cosplaying. In her words, she doesn't read comics, rather she watches movies and anime.
Joining the trio is Jorge Elias (Brays Efe), Cosme's son who is a comic geek and runs as a comic book store in town. When Cosme realizes the demented villain commits murders in the form of creating superhero origin stories, he feels Jorge is better suited for the job with David. It is quite predictable as to how the relationship between Jorge and David is shown— icy, sarcastic, and some sardonic.
Things go batshit crazy when David realizes his parents were killed the same way as Martha and Thomas Wayne were killed in the comics. Even though the 90-minute feature takes time to set the context, it changes gears in the second act as we quickly see Jorge, David, and Norma go up against a force who's ahead of them the whole time. The suspense level is heightened when it hides the identity of the killer until the final thirty minutes of the film. With time running out for the trio to find the killer, they face pressure as the news goes public. Bruguera (Ernesto Alterio), the forensic man in the department is revealed to be the killer and the rest of the story follows the trio attempting to put an end to his nefarious.
References
- "'Unknown Origins' aka 'Orígenes Secretos' Review: When comic books become the tool for savage and gory murders". Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- "Netflix's Unknown Origins Review: Fun, Exciting and Nerdy". Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- Sansom, Cole (August 28, 2020). "Unknown Origins review – twists we've seen before". Ready Steady Cut!. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- "'Orígenes secretos' se estrena en Netflix; se olvida del Festival de Málaga por Covid" ['Secret Origins' Premieres on Netflix; Forget the Malaga Festival because of Covid]. LatinUS (in Spanish). August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.