7 Años (7 Years) - (2016)

7 anos spanish film review



7 Años is a Spanish language film about a group of friends who are executives of successful company.

They must decide which one of them will claim responsibility for their company committing fraud. Said action would land the guilty party in jail for seven years, but in turn would save the company.

The film, which is set in Madrid, explores the relationships each character has with one another other.

It takes place entirely in one room as the group hold a meeting with a risk management lawyer.

7 Años touches on many topics including friendship, loyalty, and trust within a cut-throat corporate environment.


Synopsis


As touched on above 7 Años is a film which focuses on a group of friends and colleagues who run a successful firm in Madrid.

Each of the four friends meet at their warehouse styled studio where they find out their company will soon be found guilty of committing illegal tax fraud.

As it turns out each of the four: the CEO, CTO, VP and lead engineer, share the burden of knowing about their company’s malpractice.

They must determine who will take the fall for the company.

The CEO phones in a risk management professional who joins the four to help make an objective decision.

However, as the meeting goes on each of the four character’s true colours show, resulting in moods and hostilities worsening.

The film follows the entire length of the meeting as their time limit to choose a deserving scapegoat looms dramatically closer.


Important Themes


7 Años is certainly a film about testing the extent of working relationships. It speaks to how far people will go to protect themselves.

In today’s day and age, money and power is everything. We largely attribute success with money and the things you can buy. And by that way of thinking, people within the corporate world are quite often projected as the most successful kind of people by society.

However, as noted in 7 Años, not everything is always happy-go-lucky within a successful technology firm. Many firms in the present time are riddled with their issues surrounding ethics, financial malpractice, deceit and even at times guilty of spreading deliberate misinformation.

It’s almost impossible to name a big company or bank that hasn’t been hit with a lawsuit or been in the press for their not-so transparent business.

An emerging example of such a thing can be seen with Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform.

They remain to keep a bright and amicable image even though they are constantly being hit with action lawsuits from artists and musicians for their financial blunders.

Moreover, 7 Años speaks to these concurrent issues quite well by focusing on a successful company in Spain being investigated for committing tax fraud by the government.

In recent times, knowledge has surfaced that many big companies around Europe have been found guilty of stashing away millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts. And additionally, it is not uncommon for these companies to set up various shell companies around the globe to get around the act of paying millions in taxes.

A multitude of examples of these types of financial crimes can be found within the pages of the Panama Papers which were leaked in 2015.

The papers, which consist of 11.5 million documents detail mass information on the financials of rich companies and individuals, as well as over 200,000 offshore entities.

The most famous and notable financial players linked with these incriminating documents span over large companies in every industry, politicians, national leaders, royals, members of government, actors, musicians, football (soccer) players and even members of the Vatican.

If you even search on google anything relating to tax fraud in Spain you’ll be directed to article after article about famous football players and their mischievous financial dealings.

With the way that things are financially in Spain, the government is cracking down on individuals and companies who attempt to skirt the law.

With the division growing between those of have and those who have not and with unemployment ratings rising, these types of financial narratives take a popular likeness throughout Spanish society.

7 Años does a great job of telling an absorbing and captivating story on said narrative.


Conclusion


Ultimately, 7 Años is a film which keeps you engaged despite the entirety of the film being shot in one location. It is full of drama, entertainment and unforeseen twists and turns.

As discussed 7 Años touches on various issues concerning financial and corporate dealings. It does a fantastic job of showing how far you can test a person’s loyalty when pushed against their own personal morals.

7 Años is a film worth a watch. I found myself immensely enjoying it and being sucked into their world despite going into the film blind.

Definitely give it a go, you won’t be disappointed. 

Ali Tamachi

Alik is a marketer and writer who creates compelling "chef's kiss" worthy marketing and advertising collateral. Outside of his professional setting he is a big film nerd, loves reading, running and doing digital art. Feel free to follow him on his journey from the links below.

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