The Silence of the Marsh (El silencio del pantano)

NETFLIX PRESENTS

You should play with a fucking steak, not a fucking ball, useless shits.

Jesus!

…half an hour to go before play resumes, a short break to recover…

Good evening.

…we're witnessing a spectacular game…

Take me to Saler Road. I'll guide you from there.

…almighty Barça, the king of kings…

I tell you what, if they played with a damn steak--

You want to smoke, sir? You can smoke in this taxi.

It gets on my nerves.

This damn soccer.

Catalan team has the ball now.

Rakitić passes it to Busquets in the midfield.

He goes for a long pass, but Valencia recovers…

Excuse me, shouldn't we have taken González Abarca Street?

No need. It's faster this way, sir.

It'll take much longer this way. I've done this a thousand times.

Well, you tell me, I'm the cabman. Imagine how many times I've done it.

Turn round and take González Abarca, please.

Sir, it's faster this way.

Okay?

…and now Valencia is trying to level the field.

Come on, come on, come on!

-Goal! -Goal!

Goal!

That's it! Yes!

Come on, that's it!

Goal! Fuck yeah!

Fuck yeah! Jesus!

Jesus, finally!

Jesus!

…what a shot from the Frenchman!

From the right side of the penalty area,

an almost impossible missile for Cillessen who couldn't do a thing about it…

Barcelona: 0,

-Valencia: 1! -Are you feeling all right, sir?

Sir?

Sir, I'm talking to you. Are you all right?

God damn it!

God fucking damn it!

Jesus!

Didn't I fucking tell you?

I told you, open the window if you're gonna throw up!

You open the fucking window!

It's common sense!

What a fucking idiot!

Just my luck to pick up an idiot on the last ride of the shift!

What a damn idiot!

Jesus!

To kill, it's essential to strip the victim of all human:

their feelings, their happiness, and their sadness.

I'm sure that man was a good husband,

a great father, a charming colleague who made perfect paellas on Sundays…

I'm sure he had talents and qualities that would be forever lost,

hopes and dreams that would be never fulfilled.

But none of that mattered at all.

WHEN THE SEA FOAM TURNS RED

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

-Thank you very much for coming. -Thank you.

At last.

Thank you.

Who's it for?

María. Sorry.

María.

Thank you for your novels. I love them.

Thank you for reading them.

Can I ask a question?

Of course. You can ask me anything.

The protagonist…

I mean, you never explained what happened to him,

some sort of trauma or something like that?

We don't know anything about his past. Will you tell in one of your books?

No.

I don't really plan on doing that.

Then will we ever know why he kills?

Because he can.

Lets go, quick!

Asshole!

Valencia isn't a maritime city.

Never has been.

It's a riverine city built on top of a massive swamp…

drained for centuries so that the famous Valencian farmland could proliferate

and make the wealth of the city possible.

Wealth enjoyed always by the same people.

The city entered the 21st century enamored with itself.

Formula One,

the America's Cup,

the City of Arts and Sciences…

Acts of complacency for which no one takes responsibility anymore.

Nowadays, the swamp is nowhere to be seen.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

It's still there, just a little deeper down,

like a hastily buried corpse.

Brimming with eels and reeds.

One after another, they began to fill the Valencian government.

The eels arrived first.

Repugnant creatures that resembled both snake and fish,

they lived in the mud feeding off the filth.

He knew their type well.

He was one of them not that long ago.

He watched them as they shook hands

and engaged in hugs as fake as their smiles.

Upstart writers,

narcissistic bloggers, cultural promoters, editors…

They were all there,

waiting for the true owners of the swamp to show up.

The only species that don't need fertilizer,

rich soil, or irrigation to grow…

The reeds.

Tall and strong…

but empty inside, they were the true kings of the marsh…

the city.

They're involved in politics, employers' organizations,

labor unions, education, sports…

everything.

For a time, he also wanted to become one of the high and mighty.

But soon he realized he was neither an eel nor a reed.

He was a different type of creature.

A much more dangerous one.

EX-COUNCILLOR CARRETERO UNDER INVESTIGATION

FOR INVOLVEMENT IN THE GRAU'S TAX FRAUD CASE

FOR SALE

Shit.

I'm sorry, man. I lost track of time.

How did it go?

Fine.

Fine.

Hey, aren't you a little old for this stuff?

No way.

My kid destroys me every game, I gotta practice.

What?

If you're going to give me shit, you can fuck off.

You want a beer?

Okay.

…at the Valencian courthouse, where a statement regarding the Safil case

has been made by the ex-member of the government council,

Ferrán Carretero.

Hey, did that gig in Segorbe work out in the end?

Yeah, two days starting tomorrow. But it's not much and all under the table.

-Better than nothing, right? -Sure.

Between this and the bike money, I'm getting by.

And the bike papers?

What do I tell the cops if they pull me over?

Well, you'll think of something, Mr. Writer.

What party? I don't belong to any political party.

Look, you're talking about something that happened many, many years ago

and something that I, of course, had nothing to do with.

I work at the University of Valencia now,

and I'd really like to get there today, thank you very much.

Mr. Carretero?

I didn't know how to answer the third question.

-After staying up all night… -Yeah, this sucks.

…the general price behavior.

GDP.

The GDP's value includes only final goods and services,

i.e. goods that are ready to be consumed.

And the goods mentioned before don't count toward its calculation.

We are speaking, of course, of goods and services

that require further manipulation…

Intermediate goods, as I was saying…

are not included.

And only goods and services produced in the current year…

In other words…

if goods produced in another year get sold in the current--

Lot of heat the other day, huh?

It wouldn't kill you to learn some manners.

Don't ever walk into my class like that again.

-You want to lecture me on manners? -I don't think so.

From now on, they'll call you on this.

It's a burner. Forget the other one. And my number's on it, just in case.

What?

What do I do with it?

I don't know, take out the SIM card, put it in the microwave, or up your ass,

do whatever the fuck you want.

Anything else?

Is anyone there?

Hello?

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU

You know who I am.

What you don't know is that you've made a mistake.

If you don't take me home right now, you'll be in a big trouble.

I have protection!

People are already searching for me.

Important, influential people!

And they've already informed the police and gendarmeries!

You have no fucking idea how much trouble you're in!

Got nothing to say?

Me neither.

I've said it all in court and to the press.

There's nothing more.

Nothing more!

So you saw me on TV and thought you could make an easy buck.

Well, no!

I'm a well-known man, and not just in Valencia!

I have connections everywhere!

And there's no reason for me to be locked up in this place!

Who do you think you have in here?

Open the door, damn it.