# Unit 7
**Unit 7** (Spanish: *Grupo 7*) is a 2012 Spanish police thriller directed by Alberto Rodríguez, about a four-man plain-clothes police squad that cleans drug trafficking out of Seville in the years before the 1992 Universal Exposition, using methods that slide from the unethical to the openly illegal.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) It stars Antonio de la Torre as Rafael and [Mario Casas](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-casas) as Ángel, with Joaquín Núñez, José Manuel Poga, Inma Cuesta, and Julián Villagrán in supporting roles.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) The film was nominated for 16 [Goya Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/goya-awards) and won two.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / international title | *Grupo 7* / *Unit 7*[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Alberto Rodríguez; screenplay by Rafael Cobos and Alberto Rodríguez[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) |
| Release | Spain, 4 April 2012 (some listings give 3 April)[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [4](https://www.aceprensa.com/resenas-cine-series/grupo-7/) |
| Setting | Seville, 1987 to 1992, in the run-up to the Expo '92 world's fair[5](https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20120323/54276331621/mario-casas-limpia-sevilla-expo-grupo-7.html) |
| Runtime | 95 minutes (the producer's site lists 96)[6](https://www.ecartelera.com/peliculas/grupo-7/) • [1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) |
| Budget | More than 3.5 million euros[7](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/pelicula-grupo-7/?origen=app) |
| Goya Awards | 16 nominations; wins for Best Supporting Actor (Julián Villagrán) and Best New Actor (Joaquín Núñez)[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The film follows the four plain-clothes officers of the elite "Unit 7", charged with cleansing the barrio streets of Seville of drug trafficking and prostitution as the city prepares for the 1992 International Expo.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) For the squad, the thin line between unethical methods and openly illegal ones does not exist: its working method is violence, coercion, lies, and half-truths, and everything goes.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/)
The four members are defined in contrast to one another. Ángel (Mario Casas) is a young, intelligent, and compassionate aspirant to police inspector whose hopes of promotion to detective hinge on results.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) Rafael (Antonio de la Torre) is an expeditious, implacable, and arrogant enforcer, brutally efficient.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) Miguel (José Manuel Poga) and Mateo (Joaquín Núñez) are the wisecrackers of the team, capable of the greatest brutalities but also of unexpected gestures of tenderness.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/)
**Two arcs in opposite directions.** Between Ángel and Rafael a strange understanding grows, and over time they discover they resemble each other more than they ever imagined.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) Ángel slides with increasing ease into ambition and police excess; after a routine raid he discreetly pockets a packet of cocaine, and the unit's tactics come to include coercion, excessive force, and evidence tampering.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) Rafael, meanwhile, is changed from within by the unexpected love of the beautiful and enigmatic Lucía (Lucía Guerrero).[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) As the unit accumulates successes and decorations, the interplay of betrayals, loyalties, and feelings grows more complicated, and the four men come under investigation by the police internal affairs department on suspicion of involvement in a corruption case.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [8](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20230319/grupo-7-pelicula-mario-casas-hechos-reales-quien-eran/2432053.shtml) Ángel's wife Elena (Inma Cuesta) tries to bring some sanity into his life.[9](https://www.culturamas.es/2012/04/19/grupo-7-2012-de-alberto-rodriguez/)
## Historical basis
The plot is inspired by real events.[4](https://www.aceprensa.com/resenas-cine-series/grupo-7/) Although the film carries the standard disclaimer that any resemblance to reality is coincidence, it refers to historical events in Seville between 1986 and 1992, the period of greatest activity of a real anti-drug squad that was actually called Grupo 10 (Group 10), not [Grupo 7](https://www.edgepedia.org/grupo-7).[8](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20230319/grupo-7-pelicula-mario-casas-hechos-reales-quien-eran/2432053.shtml) Two officers who belonged to that squad were accused and tried for corruption but were ultimately acquitted, and both were still alive when the film was discussed in the Spanish press.[8](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20230319/grupo-7-pelicula-mario-casas-hechos-reales-quien-eran/2432053.shtml)
Director Alberto Rodríguez said the idea arose from files on an 1980s trial that a lawyer friend loaned to co-screenwriter Rafael Cobos.[10](https://tribecafilm.com/news/512c14fe1c7d76d9a90008ee-bad-guys-sometimes-have-b) He described the film as a film noir and cop thriller that could be read as the rise and fall of a band of gangsters, with the difference that his gangsters are on the "lawful" side of the line: they carry a badge.[10](https://tribecafilm.com/news/512c14fe1c7d76d9a90008ee-bad-guys-sometimes-have-b) In his statement for the European Film Academy, he framed the premise around the pre-Expo cleanup itself: when an important event takes place, host cities must shine, crime is pushed to the outskirts, and everyone looks the other way while it happens.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) The incidents in the film were taken from the newspapers of the period, and Rodríguez acknowledged that one entire scene uses dialogue taken from an article in the magazine *Interviú*.[11](https://www.granadahoy.com/ocio/Grupo-encarga-limpiar-Sevilla_0_572643210.amp.html)
## Production
Rodríguez shot the film in Seville from 16 May to 9 July 2011, on a budget of more than 3.5 million euros, in summer heat and in front of an engaged local public.[7](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/pelicula-grupo-7/?origen=app) It was his fifth feature, following *El factor pilgrim* (2000), *El traje* (2002), *7 vírgenes* (2005), and *After* (2009).[7](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/pelicula-grupo-7/?origen=app) • [12](https://www.bambinafilms.com/directors/alberto-rodriguez/) The production companies were Atípica Films (50 percent), La Zanfoña Producciones (25 percent), and Sacromonte Films (25 percent), with participation by TVE, AXN, Canal+ España, and Canal Sur TV.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) Warner Bros. Pictures International distributed the film in Spain, and Film Factory handled international sales.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/)
The film was shot on a Red One Mysterium X camera with Zeiss Master Prime lenses, in HD 4K transferred to 35 mm, in Scope 1:2.35 format.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) The story is told chronologically from 1987, when the unit begins work, to 1992, the year of the Expo, interspersed with real images of the construction works that transformed the city.[5](https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20120323/54276331621/mario-casas-limpia-sevilla-expo-grupo-7.html) The score is by Julio de la Rosa, the cinematography by Álex Catalán, and the editing by José M. G. Moyano.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf)
## Reception and awards
The film was selected for the Feature Film Selection of the 2012 [European Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-film-awards) and competed in the World Narrative Competition at the 2012 Tribeca Festival in New York, where it received a Special Jury Mention for its cinematography.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/) • [3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) It also screened at the London Spanish Film Festival, the Seville European Film Festival (EFA selection), and the San Sebastián Festival's Made in Spain section.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf)
**Goya recognition.** At the 2013 Goya Awards the film received 16 nominations and won two prizes: Best Supporting Actor for Julián Villagrán and Best New Actor for Joaquín Núñez.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) At the ASECAN Awards of Andalusian Cinema it won seven prizes from ten nominations, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound, with a shared Best Male Performance award for Núñez and Villagrán.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) Estefanía de los Santos won Best Performance at the 22nd Courmayeur Noir Festival in Italy.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf) The film was also one of the three films preselected by Spain for the Academy Awards, and was a candidate for the European Film Academy Awards and Mexico's Ariel Awards.[1](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/) • [16](https://www.rtve.es/rtve/20120927/blancanieves-participada-por-tve-pelicula-escogida-para-representar-a-espana-en-los-oscar-2013/565241.shtml)
Critics responded to the film's blend of genre energy and character study. *Variety* called it "that rare beast, a hard-hitting corrupt-cop thriller that's more about people than plot".[13](https://kinolorber.com/film/unit7) *El País* praised the performances led by Antonio de la Torre and the screenplay by Rafael Cobos, and asked whether a new Spanish police cinema was being born.[14](https://elpais.com/cultura/2012/04/04/actualidad/1333541682_339129.html) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a Tomatometer score of 53 percent from four reviews.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grupo_7_2012) In the United States Kino Lorber gave it a theatrical release under the title *Unit 7*, in Spanish, English, and French with English subtitles.[13](https://kinolorber.com/film/unit7)
## References
1. [Grupo 7 – Atípica Films](https://atipicafilms.com/produccion/grupo-7/)
2. [Unit 7 (Grupo 7) – European Film Academy](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/unit-7/)
3. [Grupo 7 / Unit 7 – Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (ICAA festival dossier)](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A28b024cd-fdcd-4c93-955b-bdfd409b0216/l3-ei-2012.pdf)
4. [Grupo 7. Sinopsis y crítica – Aceprensa](https://www.aceprensa.com/resenas-cine-series/grupo-7/)
5. [Mario Casas limpia Sevilla para la Expo en 'Grupo 7' – La Vanguardia](https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20120323/54276331621/mario-casas-limpia-sevilla-expo-grupo-7.html)
6. [Grupo 7 (2012) – eCartelera](https://www.ecartelera.com/peliculas/grupo-7/)
7. [Grupo 7 – RTVE.es (production notes)](https://www.rtve.es/noticias/pelicula-grupo-7/?origen=app)
8. [¿Existió realmente el Grupo 7? La historia real del personaje de Mario Casas – RTVE.es](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20230319/grupo-7-pelicula-mario-casas-hechos-reales-quien-eran/2432053.shtml)
9. [Grupo 7 (2012) de Alberto Rodríguez – Culturamas](https://www.culturamas.es/2012/04/19/grupo-7-2012-de-alberto-rodriguez/)
10. [Bad Guys Sometimes Have Badges – Tribeca](https://tribecafilm.com/news/512c14fe1c7d76d9a90008ee-bad-guys-sometimes-have-b)
11. ['Grupo 7' se encarga de 'limpiar' Sevilla – Granada Hoy](https://www.granadahoy.com/ocio/Grupo-encarga-limpiar-Sevilla_0_572643210.amp.html)
12. [Alberto Rodríguez – Bambinafilms](https://www.bambinafilms.com/directors/alberto-rodriguez/)
13. [Unit 7 – Kino Lorber Theatrical](https://kinolorber.com/film/unit7)
14. [Un inmenso policiaco español – El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/2012/04/04/actualidad/1333541682_339129.html)
15. [Unit 7 (2012) – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grupo_7_2012)
16. ['Blancanieves', participada por TVE, película escogida para representar a España en los Oscar 2013](https://www.rtve.es/rtve/20120927/blancanieves-participada-por-tve-pelicula-escogida-para-representar-a-espana-en-los-oscar-2013/565241.shtml)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2010–2014 films › Titles M to W*
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