Product Details

• Actors: Alejo Sauras, Lluis Homar, Santi Millan
• Directors: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopena
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002EOVXEC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,993 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Fermat's Room" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

ONE ROOM. FOUR GENIUS MINDS.
TOGETHER, THEY MUST THINK INSIDE THE BOX... OR DIE.

Four famed mathematicians, all strangers to one another, are invited to the remote home of a mysterious man known only as Fermat . Once there, they are locked in a room and given a series of logic puzzles that must be solved within one minute each. For each late answer, hydraulic presses will push the walls closer together. Why have they been placed in this elaborate death trap? What is their connection to each other? And for genius minds about to be brutally crushed, is staying alive the ultimate enigma? Federico Luppi (Guillermo Del Toro s CRONOS and PAN S LABYRINTH) and Lluís Homar (Almodóvar s BAD EDUCATION and BROKEN EMBRACES) star in the stunning Spanish thriller that The Daily Express calls ingenious and thoroughly entertaining. FERMAT S ROOM is a nail-biting fight for survival!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Puzzler, February 11, 2011

By 

Eric Sanberg (Berwyn, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fermat's Room (DVD)

These kinds of movies can be great fun. They're mystery thrillers that can keep the viewer involved and on their toes if done right. This one is done very well.

It's like "The Cube" meets "The Exam" meets "The Killing Room." All these movies have essentially one set with a fixed group of characters all needing to figure out the big puzzle. "Fermat's Room", like "The Cube" is math based and here the characters' lives are at stake, so knowing your stuff is essential. All have been invited to a location for what they think should be a fun evening in a sort of conference. They soon realize they are in a sealed room which gets smaller each time they answer a question incorrectly or later than the time allotment afforded them. Though not all of these characters are mathematicians, they all have particular expertise which can help them from getting crushed to death.

This is a fun movie. The brain teasers come at a fairly regular pace via an electronic device. Everything is done electronically and mechanically so there is no "person" to appeal to. And as each participant questions why they have been included in this death game a lot of secrets come out and a nifty cat and mouse game ensues.

The director and D.P. do a nice job of handling the single set. The actors are all good. The story and secrets unfold and an even pace and the brain teasers are engaging. This makes for a good time. This will not change your life but it should keep you thoroughly entertained throughout.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A four-star room on a 2-star DVD, November 15, 2009

By 

Alex Faber (Northern NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fermat's Room (DVD)

This Spanish thriller is clearly influenced by the movie "Saw," but brings more intelligence and many twists to the table. As the movie begins, four people who are skilled mathematicians receive a cryptic letter that leads them to an isolated building wherein they soon find themselves trapped, with walls that start to close in on them that can only be stalled by solving a variety of complex problems. Before too long, we begin to learn more about the backgrounds of the people involved, their complex connections, and the truth behind their captor in twists and reveals that are skillfully and increasingly tantalizingly dispersed to us. The movie features a taut pace so that, while the majority of the movie takes place in a single room, it never gets stale or tiresome, and while there are a few plot holes, the characters are well-defined and the structure of the story is strong, with a fairly satisfying ending (complete with a final wink to the audience).

Also, as the other reviews here have noted, while the people recruited in the movie specialize in mathematics, the challenges they're given to solve are not based in math, but more so in logic and probability. Yet, while some have taken issue with this, I think it makes complete sense, as math is not solely a field of numbers and the like, but deals more generally with problem-solving, logistics, probabilities, strategies, connections, and so on, and all of the problems they're given fall within these realms (we even see one of the people in the room playing chess in an early scene). Secondly, and more obviously, giving these people logic-based questions and challenges allows us to try to put our own intellects and abilities to the test rather than excluding us from the battle of wits.

The movie is presented in Spanish audio with English subtitles (there is no English audio option), and the DVD comes in a standard black case with cover artwork but no chapter insert. Also, the DVD itself is frustrating to play, as the multitude of previews that play before the menu appears can be skipped on an individual basis, but you cannot bypass them all with the "Menu" button.

While not the best DVD, the movie itself, though imperfect, is strong enough to keep your attention and even warrant multiple viewings. Thanks for reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Spanish Puzzler That's Got Style to Spare--But Is A Bit Short On Sense, December 30, 2010

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fermat's Room (DVD)

Thank goodness for movie villains! I mean, really, why get caught up in the mundane crimes of real life when the big screen offers the most bizarre and intricately wrought murders imaginable? The loopy, yet fascinating, Spanish film "Fermat's Room" manages to combine all the drama of mathematics and logic puzzles with the delirious scheming of a "Saw"-like mastermind. Sounds like an unusual combination, to be sure, but that's part of the fun and insanity that make this one worth a look. "Fermat's Room," with its far-fetched plotting, may not withstand intense critical scrutiny--but if you just go with the flow, you might enjoy its simple pleasures.

As four brilliant mathematicians are invited to an exclusive and private challenge, they are unaware of the connections they share between them. Using aliases, the quartet meet nice and await an evening of mental stimulation. All is not as it seems, however, as soon the four are trapped in a locked room. But that's not the bad news! Unless they solve a continual stream of logic puzzles, the walls of the room will compress and crush them to death. I told you--only in the movies, huh? In addition to some fast and frantic puzzle solving, the participants also start to unravel their relationships and hope to identify the enigmatic madman who lured them to this certain death. And, oh yeah, they also try to escape.

I liked "Fermat's Room," I'll admit it. It isn't a great movie, by any stretch, but it is stylish entertainment. The premise is intriguing and the puzzles are fun. You can play along with many of them. They are, for the most part, logic based and many of them were quite familiar (hardly the thing to perplex geniuses--unless of course, they were getting squashed to death!). The actors are eventually what sold me on "Fermat's Room." The four principles are engaging and appealing and as the dramatic tension escalates, they all give impassioned performances. There are plenty of twists, turns, and revelations (and some bend credibility past all reason) that add to the fun quotient. Check it out if it sounds at all engaging--you might be pleasantly surprised! About 3 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 12/10.