A small town in Spain, October 1955. Isabel, a 35-year-old dreamer who feels like a failure because she is not married yet, becomes the new target of a group of soulless pranksters.
Acting
Betsy Blair's devastating stillness as Isabel.
Direction
Bardem's suffocating frame traps you in the town.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes politeness.
Director
Juan Antonio Bardem
Betsy Blair
Isabel
José Suárez
Juan
Yves Massard
Federico
Luis Peña
Luis
Dora Doll
Tonia
Alfonso Godá
'El Calvo'
Manuel Alexandre
Luciano
José Calvo
'El Doctor'
Matilde Muñoz Sampedro
'Chacha'
René Blancard
Don Tomás
María Gámez
Mother
Lila Kedrova
Pepita
Josefina Serratosa
Doña Obdulia
Julia Delgado Caro
Procession Woman
José Prada
Don Evaristo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bardem was a Communist in Franco's Spain; this film smuggles anti-fascist critique through gender politics. The town IS the regime.
Betsy Blair was blacklisted in Hollywood; her exile to European cinema produced this, her most brutal role. Art imitated life.
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