“Bunker” is a 2011 film shot in the psychological thriller genre by director Andres Bice. In terms of atmosphere and some plot intricacies, the picture vaguely resembles David Fincher's Room of Fear or Nick Hamm's Pit with Keira Knightley in the title role. But alas, you cannot call “Bunker” just as successful and in demand: reviews of the film are ambiguous both from critics and viewers.
The creators of the picture
“Bunker” is a film whose director was not known either in Hollywood or in Europe before the premiere of the thriller. For Andres Bice, the tape was the first project that "broke" into international distribution.
Bays is a native of the small Colombian town of Cali. He began his career in the 2000s. from the shooting of short films and low-budget films. Often, Bays had to act as a screenwriter, director and editor at the same time.
Basically, the “Bunker” crew consisted of people with whom Bice collaborated on various projects. The only exception is artist Bernardo Trujillo, who is known for his talented work on the set of Frida with Salma Hayek in the title role.
From the director’s early works, the drama “Satan”, based on the novel by Mario Mendoza of the same name, can be distinguished. In 2013, after the premiere of "Bunker", another movie by Bice was released in limited release - the historical drama "Roa". Then followed the participation in the filming of several series, among which the Narco project, which received two Golden Globes, was recognized as the best.
Short story
The plot of the film "Bunker" takes place today in the capital of Colombia. A young promising conductor Adrian comes from Spain to Bogota to lead the local philharmonic orchestra. Together with him comes his girlfriend Belen.
The first days in a new place pass in euphoria. A loving couple rents an old mansion from a nice lady of German origin. Adrian continues to make progress in his career, and in his free time, together with Belen, they learn a new city, a new culture. However, Belen can not get rid of the thought that her lover is cheating on her.
Suffering from jealousy, Belen shares her feelings with the landlord Emma. An elderly woman gives her non-standard advice: officially part with Adrian and look at his reaction. But not only in a figurative sense, but in the most direct: to hide in a secret room behind the wall of their joint bedroom and to “spy” a little for her lover.
Belén does this, only in a hurry does she lose the key to her shelter and is locked in a bunker room with complete sound insulation. Without food and communication with the outside world, without hope of getting outside, she has to watch Adrian’s new novel day after day, until she finds the only way to signal her presence in the house ...
C. Gutierrez as Adrian
Kim Gutierrez is an actor of Spanish descent. He studied at the famous school of drama Nancy Tunion.
Kim Gutierrez began his film career by filming the Italian film “The Nun” and the Spanish drama “Without You”. A significant role in the career of a novice performer was played by Daniel Arevalo in the Azuloscurocasinegro film. For the embodiment on the screens of the image of Jorge - a guy with a difficult fate - Kim received the honorary Goya Award for best acting debut.
After such a successful start, Gutierrez began to finally get the main roles in films with more serious funding: “Bunker” by Andres Bice, “Cousins” and “My Big Spanish Family” by Daniel Arevalo, “Epidemic” by the Pastor brothers.
In the film "Bunker" the performer got the role of a womanizer and smoothie. Adrian easily enters into a relationship with women and has no serious feelings for anyone.
A few days after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend, the main character of the film brings a new passion to the house - Fabianu. The police suspect the musician of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, but this does not seem to worry Adrian: he continues to live for his pleasure.
When Fabian suddenly disappears from his house in exactly the same way as Belen, Adrian finds on the piano an old key and his photo with Belen. Will the protagonist guess what kind of key was in his hands? The story is silent about this.
C. Lago as Belen
In the thriller Bunker, Clara Lago played the role of a prisoner in a secret room - Belen. Tempted by the idea to test the feelings of a lover, the heroine of Lago falls into a trap. She tries to knock, scream, call for help, but the dense walls of the bunker completely isolate all sounds.
After a couple of days, to the feeling of hunger and exhausting fear, despair is added that one has to witness Adrian's hectic personal life: the bunker is designed in such a way that you can see and hear everything that happens in the neighboring rooms.
Belen hated Adrian’s new mistress with all her heart, but the irony of fate is that it was Fabian who first noticed the presence of someone else in the house, found the lost key to the bunker and got to the bottom of what was happening. Belen hoped that her rival would release her. But to her horror, she discovered that Fabiana had slightly different plans.
M. Garcia as Fabiana
Colombian actress Martina Garcia at the age of 14 began her modeling career. When it came time to graduate, the girl became a student at the drama school in Bogota. Since 1999, Martina Garcia has acted in films.
Garcia’s career is mainly related to TV shows. Among the full-length projects, there are only the thriller “The Art of Losing”, the picture “Operation E” and the drama “Bunker”.
The 2011 film directed by Andres Bice opened new horizons for Garcia. She became a recognizable personality in Spain and even appeared a couple of times in American TV shows such as Homeland and The Mindy Project.
In “Bunker,” the actress appeared before us in the guise of a waitress Fabiana, who became Adrian’s girlfriend after Belen disappeared. Fabiana was so carried away by her relationship that without a shadow of doubt she moved to live with a new acquaintance, not paying attention to conversations about the missing Belen. However, the atmosphere of the old mansion gradually began to frighten the girl: Adrian’s dog constantly growled, as if sensing someone behind a wall, from time to time the light went out in the house, and circles circled through the water in the bathroom, as if picking up vibrations from nowhere.
At some point, Fabiana began to sense someone's presence and communicate with the stranger, intercepting conventional signs. When the girl realized that it was Belen asking for her help, she decided not to let the captive go. After some time, remorse made Adrian's mistress enter the bunker. Having received a deafening blow to the head, she woke up in the darkness locked in the room where Belen used to live. And it is impossible to predict what happened after that with the heroine Martina Garcia, as the story breaks off.
The film "Bunker": supporting actors
In the picture of Andres Bice there are not so many actors.
The key person among the supporting characters, of course, was Emma, the owner of the ill-fated mansion. Her husband was an SS officer during World War II. It was he who built the secret bunker in the walls of his own house, so that in the event of Hitler's defeat, he would have refuge. The role of Emma was performed by the Canadian actress Alexandra Stewart, also known for the series Highlander and the film American Night.
The role of violinist Veronica, an affair with which made her friend Adrian Belen initiate a break, went to Colombian actress Marcel Gardeasabal. The performer is mainly known for Colombian TV shows such as El Chapo, Ex-Patriot and Brotherhood.
Also among the heroes of the film it is worth highlighting the image of the police Ramirez, embodied on the screens by the Venezuelan actor Juan Alfonso Baptista. According to the plot, Ramirez is a close friend of Fabiana, who is investigating the disappearance of Belen. In the finale of the picture, having failed to prove Adrian’s involvement in the murder of Belen, he brings Fabiana pictures that prove that the musician continues to have novels on the side. It was after this event that Fabiana repents of her deed and goes to the bunker to release Belen.
Juan Alfonso Baptista can also be seen in the series Celia, Perfect Cheating and The Dark Angel.
Premiere and fees
In the original, the name of the film “Bunker” sounds like La cara oculta, or “The Dark Side”. It was under that name that the premiere of the painting in Spain took place on September 16, 2011.
Then the tape was shown in Italy, Japan, Russia, Ukraine and the UK. The tape was also shown as part of the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Fantasy Film Festival in Berlin.
At the international box office was generated 5.2 million dollars.
Viewers reviews
What reaction did the Bunker thriller have about the audience? Reviews of the film from the audience are quite loyal.
On the international site IMDb, the picture has a rating of 7.4, which is a pretty good indicator. The audience notes the special atmosphere of the thriller, the good dynamics of the plot, an interesting structure, thanks to which the first half of the film we look at the events taking place through the eyes of Fabiana, and then we seem to be transferred to a different dimension and see the true essence of things with Belen’s eyes imprisoned in a bunker.
Reviews of the film critics, of course, are different. They are more demanding and perspicacious.
"Bunker": reviews of the film critics
Only 40% of reviews written by Russian critics are positive. Mostly professional observers compare “Bunker” with Spanish unpretentious melodramas, complaining about the director’s excessive attention to the details of the love triangle, the poor work of the operator, etc.