Bored 15-year-old school chums Rai Manu and Javi dream of sexual adventures and exotic resorts while the well-off population of Madrid flock to the beaches on a summer holiday. The youths hang around the concrete wasteland killing time by reading the sex classifieds and pushing their luck. They masturbate, thieve, fight with their families and get involved in a drug bust. Finally Rai, the most daring and restless of the trio - gets shot while trying to steal stereo gear from a car. Each adolescent faces a dreary home life but when they get together they enjoy each other's company to the full. The film is an engaging mixture of comedy drama and the pathos of life in a Madrid neighborhood.
Acting
Non-pro teens bring raw, unpolished authenticity
Direction
Aranoa's debut captures boredom as kinetic energy
Cinematography
Concrete landscapes that shimmer with trapped heat
Director
Fernando León de Aranoa
Críspulo Cabezas
Rai
Timy Benito
Javi
Marieta Orozco
Susi
Enrique Villén
Ricardo
Alicia Sánchez
Carmen
Francisco Algora
Ángel
Chete Lera
Inspector de policía
Pedro Miguel Martínez
Vecino
Daniel Guzmán
Chico bar de copas
Lluvia Rojo
Chica bar de copas
Nicolas Abraham
Hermano de Rai
Concha Gómez Conde
Madre de Rai
Pepo Oliva
Padre de Rai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of 'cine quinqui,' Spain's controversial 80s-90s genre about working-class delinquency that critics called exploitation and others called necessary realism.
Lead actor Críspulo Cabezas was a Madrid street kid with no acting experience; Aranoa found him at a youth center.
ES
