In extremes ★★★
DRAMA (2022)
Directed by: Juan Diego Boto
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Luis Tozar, Christian Checa

The socially charged film by the Argentinian Juan Diego Boto touches on a very serious issue, which also figured prominently in the Greek election campaign. His story takes place in Spain, where the stories of different people are intertwined within one day. A lawyer (Louis Tosar) with intense social action runs from morning to night for the needs of others, neglecting his pregnant wife. The mother (Penelope Cruz) is desperate to save her house as the bank is about to throw her family out on the street. An elderly woman is also ready to lose her home, acting as a guarantor for her son, who works part-time.

The plot the director is addressing leaves no room for humor and political balance, instead we have a strong dose of raw socialist realism.

Stab in the stomach

The issue of auctions and bad loans, which has been hitting Spain hard for years, is presented through a high-intensity film that feels like a cinematic kick in the gut. There is no place for frivolity, humor and political balance here, instead we have crude socialist realism, presented not so much with accusatory as with dramatic weight that can shock even the most insensitive viewer.

Juan Diego Boto, for his part, opts for fast paced directing and editing as the lawyer’s protagonist runs from place to place – he always misses and succeeds until his luck runs out – joining the other characters with their own stories. Luis Tozar is truly excellent in this role, capturing the pain, courage, and also the mistakes of a man who views the world through an almost self-destructive idealism. For her part, Penélope Cruz, who must have been paid only a fraction of her usual box office receipts for the film, perfectly epitomizes a determined mother who will fight to the end to keep a roof over her children.

Recipe… thriller

In general, we have before us a film that thematically strongly resembles socialist realism, for example, Ken Loach or Kaurismäki, but in execution it is much more similar to the famous Spanish thrillers that created the “school” – and style – of the last decade and a half. You leave the room exhausted, but full of thoughts and feelings about what is happening around us.