"Marvellous."

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

"It was chosen by the New York Post among the best ten films seen in New York in 1978."

LA VANGUARDIA

"A milestone of cinema made during Spain's dramatic gallop from dictatorship in 1975 to democracy in 1977."

FESTIVAL CENTRAL (VARIETY)
John Hopewell

"Handsome, impressively single-minded movie.

Many of the eeriest moments in Furtivos, sparkle with disconcertingly deadpan humor; it's no wonder that the film has been advertised as a favorite of Luis Buñuel.

Mr. Borau, whose work has apparently been both popular and controversial in Spain, has a talent for shifting things ever so slightly askew, without sacrificing the air of oppressive normality that gives his best scenes a subversive vitality. In his most sharply successful moments, Mr. Borau manages to get things so wrong that they seem just right.

There is a marvelous spirit of mischief to Mr. Borau's work, and an unusual delicacy to his gift for making things seem daintily unhinged;

The climate of oppression that the film means to dramatize is important, but what makes Mr. Borau's American debut particularly auspicious is not his film's subject but its muted, idiosyncratic and altogether clear-eyed madness."

NEW YORK TIMES 7/03/1978
Janet Maslin

"Essential. (...) Overwhelming, with a crescendo rhythm that catches up with you.

Dreadful would be a good adjective for the film. It is a very hard film, but with an increasing subtle hardship insinuating at times, and brutally manifested at others. But it has moments of dark humor too and above all a terrifying atmosphere.

Great performance of the four main actors and above all the mother's (Lola Gaos). Amazing."

MUCHOCINE.NET
Tito Chinchan

"Furtivos is the Spanish film that is attracting audiences and aficionados to the point where it has become a real success wherever it is premiered. And, yet, Furtivos isn't a film that follows the cinema's usual means to achieve a commercial product. The film's interest is to be found in its theme's development and the author's ability to show with an enviable creativity some characters who are the victims of certain circumstances."

LA VANGUARDIA 05/10/1975

"The stagnate waters of our national cinema are shaken at times, thanks to an unusual contribution that attracts the attention not only of our public but internationally as well. Thus, it occurred some years ago with Furtivos and its director, José Luis Borau, who with determination and economic and artistic risk, something not often seen in this country, was able to construct a current and significant story to end up succeeding not only in his own country by outside our borders too."

EL PAIS
J. Fernández Santos

"Furtivos is the film of the moment.

Due to its character, its environment, and the way characters are dealt with, Furtivos is undoubtedly a film rooted in the times and the place where it was produced. It has been said that Furtivos is a great work, displaying an authenticity rarely seen in the Spanish cinema. Certainly it is not a common film."

LA VANGUARDIA 2/10/1975

"The film that established José Luis Borau was set out as a cross between a traditional rural melodrama and a black portrait of deep Spain. Its proposals are not too exciting, but its pieces fit into each other so precisely that it is impossible to get away from the images. The convincing performances are crucial for the sordid story to be believable."

FOTOGRAMAS

"Spanish publicity for Furtivos challenged Franco's description of Spain as 'a peaceful forest' by asking 'What is rotting beneath the silence of a peaceful forest?' Thus, the family tragedy at the film's centre is related on several levels: individual, generational, political, and religious.

Strong performances, photographed with beautiful precision."

Time Out Chicago Film Guide
CPe