The Courier – Netflix Review (3/5)

THE COURIER on Netflix is a Spanish crime thriller (org. title: El Correo) based on true events. It’s essentially about fraud and money laundering. A solid history lesson about the past decades of economic struggles. Read our The Courier (2024) movie review here!

THE COURIER is a new Netflix crime thriller from Spain. The original Spanish title is El correo and it’s based on true events. In fact, throughout the movie, the story is intersected with real news footage. Just to emphasize that the crimes shown in the movie – no matter how crazy and wild – aren’t that far fetched.

The runtime is right around 100 minutes, and while some things are repetitive (the partying mostly), it’s an intriguing look at the financial situation in Spain from 1992 and up to 2010 primarily. Definitely worth checking out on Netflix and full of familiar faces if you’re follow Spanish film and TV production.

Continue reading our 2024 The Courier movie review below. Find it on Netflix from May 10, 2024.

A trip around Europe

While this is a Spanish movie (org. title: El correo), the story plays out mostly across several European cities. Brussels in Belgium, and Geneva in Switzerland, especially – along with Madrid and Marbella in Spain. It’s a history lesson in corruption and the severe economic struggle Spain has been through for decades.

However, the movie also has one element in Hong Kong, which is where the movie opens before going back to tell the full story of how the title character of The Courier ended up there.

While the actual story begins in 1992 with both the Olympics and the Expo being in Barcelona, the following year was a huge blow for Spain. That’s when Iván Márquez (Arón Piper) first sees the impact of money on his own family. They go from thriving to struggling in the span of just one year.

A history lesson in corruption

We then jump to the year 2002, which is when Spain enters the Euro. Iván is now a young man and we see the switch from pesetas to Euros through the eyes of young people, who still feel like they’re getting screwed over. And they are, for the most part, but by their own government and elected officials.

This is a time of opportunities, for the smart ones, which means those who have no trouble robbing the poor to line their own pockets just a bit more.

Iván is just a young man from Vallecas, but he wants more out of life than just getting by. As a valet at a luxurious golf club in Madrid, he spots an opportunity to get in with some powerful people and grab at it with both hands. Before the next day is over, he has become a Belgian courier for an international organization.

This organization is dedicated to money laundering, so Ivan starts transporting suitcases to Brussels and Geneva. Of course, Iván doesn’t just want to be the courier, so he keeps looking for ways to advance in the business.

It turns out his own native Spanish area of the Costa del Sol is swimming in dirty money, so it’s the next place he needs to exploit. No more than any of the many construction businessmen, corrupt politicians, bankers, sportsmen, and even the Chinese mafia.

Basically, Ivan just wants his share of the cake and couldn’t care less who he hurts in the process. Money is like a virus, he states without much emotion. And this illustrates perfectly that you should not expect any of the characters to be likable. They’re all scum – just from different backgrounds.

Watch The Courier on Netflix now!

Daniel Calparsoro (The Warning) is the director of The Courier / El correo on Netflix, where the screenplay comes from Alejo Flah and Patxi Amezcua (Infiesto).

At its core, this is the story of how crime doesn’t pay. However, it also shows that it can take a while to get caught and for some people, it’s worth the brief moment of life in excess. While I was not a fan of the many undressed scenes, which were quite repetitive, I can certainly acknowledge that this was part of what drove Ivan.

The cast features Arón Piper (Muted, Elite, The Mess You Leave Behind) in the title role, but you’ll see many other familiar actors throughout. From Luis Tosar (The Minions of Midas), Stefan Weinert (Jaguar), and José Manuel Poga (Infiesto) to Luis Zahera (Xtreme) and Nourdin Batan (30 Coins).

I would definitely recommend that you check out this Spanish crime thriller (org. title: El Correo) for both the actual movie and the important history lesson. After all, if we don’t remember what happened in the past, we are doomed to repeat it. As shown here, repetition seems neverending because the crime happens in secret.

The Courier (2024) is on Netflix from May 10, 2024.

Details

Director: Daniel Calparsoro
Writers: Patxi Amezcua, Alejo Flah
Stars: Arón Piper, María Pedraza, Luis Tosar, José Manuel Poga, Laura Sepul, Nourdin Batan