She Walks in Darkness

A young woman works in the police service. She is given an assignment: to leave her identity behind and get inside the organisation. The preparation takes a long time; a new name, a new past and a life to be learned by heart. Then she goes to the region. She builds a circle slowly, earns trust and comes to hold a position inside. She can tell nobody her real name and her contact with the service is limited; if she makes a mistake nobody can protect her. Years pass and who she is grows uncertain. Agustín Díaz Yanes directs. Susana Abaitua takes the lead; Ariadna Gil is in the cast. It is a Spanish production. The ground is historical; operations against the armed organisation in Spain ran for many years and undercover work was part of that. The matter it treats is identity; the character stays inside the part she plays and returning grows harder. The narrative gives little room to action; the tension is built through waiting and talk. Díaz Yanes had made films on crime and history in Spain before. The register is cold and the narrative builds no side as heroic. Its limit is pace; some sections run long and the character's inner life is given only sparingly. Who it is for: anyone curious about espionage narratives and recent Spanish history. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, there is little action, and it asks for historical context.