Mirage (4/5) – Netflix Movie Review

Mirage is a new Spanish thriller on Netflix (org. title Durante la tormenta). This one reminded me of both Frequency and with the vibe of The Twilight Zone. It runs a bit long but is very well made. Mirage is on Netflix now!

Mirage is a new sci-fi thriller on Netflix now. The movie is from Spain (org. title Durante la tormenta) and has a runtime of just over 2 hours. Admittedly, the runtime is a bit too long, but I honestly didn’t mind much.

Just as it’s the case with thrillers from South Korea, time is always spent on building characters and relationships to further the story. I have no problem with this since I feel it allows the audience to get more into the plot.

While Mirage is definitely a thriller, the other genres are sci-fi and drama. For me, it feels like one of those amazing stories that grab hold of you and take you for an adventure.

The storyline is somewhat reminiscent of Frequency (2000), which was also turned into a TV series, but with several new twists and turns.

The wonderful cast of Mirage

Whether you know Spanish movies or not, you should definitely enjoy this cast of stellar Spanish actors. And if you have already watched a few of the great Spanish movies out there, then you’ll recognize quite a few of them.

The star of Mirage is Adriana Ugarte who portrays Vera Roy. She indirectly ends up living in two parallel worlds that she inadvertently created. Adriana Ugarte is a brilliant actress and her performance in Mirage is a huge reason why this could ever work. You really do feel her frustration and heartbreak.

To me, the other most important character is Inspector Leyra who is played by Chino Darín. He doesn’t say too much in the first half of the movie, where he’s mostly trying to observe and understand.

Chino Darín is like a Spanish (or rather Argentinian, since he was born in Buenos Aires) version of the wonderful Robert Sheehan. He recently played Klaus in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy.

In a smaller role, we also see Javier Gutiérrez who was pretty awesome and very intense in El Autor. Finally, we have one of Spain’s biggest stars, Belén Rueda (El Orfanato), in a small but crucial role.

An eclectic mix of genres

While most of Mirage is a sci-fi thriller, I feel I should “warn” you that it does also have quite a bit of drama and romance. Especially towards to end. But, honestly, what would you expect?!

A woman is living a happy life with her husband and daughter, when suddenly she saves the life of someone in the past, which changes everything. Suddenly, her daughter is gone and most of the people she knows and love, have no idea who she is. 

Obviously, this kind of plot will involve drama and romance. But again, I feel this is what makes the story work. And the story itself is first and foremost a sci-fi thriller. It’s not about time travel, which is mentioned a few times throughout the movie. Instead, it’s about two people communication across time and by doing so, they impact the future.

Most of the plot does feel like an episode of The Twilight Zone for our main protagonist. She’s essentially trapped in a world that feels foreign to her. 

You should also like: Watch the trailer for Jordan Peele’s revival of The Twilight Zone TV series here >

And yes, you will probably guess huge elements of the plot twists. I know I certainly called a few of them pretty early on.

And yet, this was perhaps partly intentional to keep the audience from seeing the bigger picture. Now that is exactly the kind of thing I love about Spanish movies.

Watch Mirage on Netflix!

Mirage was written by its director, Oriol Paulo, and Lara Sendim. The two also worked together in the same capacities on the Spanish thriller The Body [El cuerpo]. The movie was so good, it was remade in South Korea where the title was changed to The Vanished. 

Recommended reading: Check out our review of the Korean remake of a brilliant Spanish thriller here >

Before making both Mirage and The Body, Oriol Paulo also co-wrote the Spanish horror thriller Julia’s Eyes. That movie was produced by none other than Guillermo del Toro.

If you like sci-fi thrillers and movies like Frequency or really good plots from The Twilight Zone, then I would definitely recommend watching Mirage on Netflix. And please, don’t let yourself get spoiled before you do!

Mirage is on Netflix in several countries all over the world from March 22, 2019.

Details

Director: Oriol Paulo
Writer: Oriol Paulo, Lara Sendim
Cast: Adriana Ugarte, Chino Darín, Javier Gutiérrez, Álvaro Morte, Nora Navas, Miquel Fernández, Clara Segura, Belén Rueda 

Plot

Two storms separated by 25 years. A woman murdered. A daughter missed. Only 72 hours to discover the truth.