Set in Galicia in northwest Spain - an area famed for its beauty and smuggling - this film shows a once-thriving fishing and shipbuilding culture fallen on hard times. Feisty, street smart Lena, 18, lives in semi-penury with her hard-drinking slob of a father, Gorrión, and hopes to escape by getting a grant to study in Portugal. Gorrion is mixed up with local drug-smuggling mafiosi, that includes Lena's godfather, Gitano, their Portugese Cachero, and the strong, silent Milio. One day, Lena returns from her job to find Gorrion badly beaten up: The gang had accused him of stealing. Lena visits the gangsters and offers to help pay off her father's debt by working for them. After Gorrion forgets to deliver Lena's grant papers, a fragile emotional bond develops between Lena and Milio. When they set off to Portugal to do a job, events start to ramble.
Acting
Marta Larralde's fierce, wounded determination carries every scene
Cinematography
Galicia's rugged coast shot like another character in the drama
Direction
Tapia's patient observation of working-class desperation
Director
Gonzalo Tapia
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Galicia's smuggling tradition (contrabando) dates to Franco-era scarcity and remains culturally complex—neither fully criminal nor celebrated.
Luis Tosar (Gitano) would explode into international recognition with 'Cell 211'—this early role shows his menacing charisma forming.
ES
