Diamond Flash

Five women. Violeta will risk anything to find her missing child. Elena keeps a secret. Lola wants to settle with her past. Juana needs to be loved without condition. Enriqueta is looking for someone who will make her laugh. What the five have in common is a name: Diamond Flash. That unclear figure touches all their lives, and as the narrative proceeds the connections open. Carlos Vermut writes and directs. It is his first film, made for very little money with a small crew. It was not shown in cinemas; it was published online and became known in Spain that way. Vermut had worked as a comics artist and the structure carries that: chapters, references to superheroes and departures from realism. The narrative joins the five strands without explaining them; information is left missing and the viewer is expected to make the connections. The tone is strange: everyday realism and a fantastical element stand side by side and neither dominates. Vermut became internationally known with his later films, and this first one counts as where his manner was formed. Who it is for: viewers who like Spanish independent cinema and strange, fragmented narrative. Who it is not for: the technical quality is rough, the narrative is deliberately unclear, and some scenes are disturbing.