Seville, Spain. Juan Santos, a convicted petty criminal, gets out of jail for a day to celebrate with Triana, his wife, the first communion of their daughter Estrella.
Acting
Mario Casas simmers with dangerous, wounded pride.
Direction
Cabezas squeezes unbearable tension from ordinary moments.
Production
Seville's shantytowns feel lived-in, suffocating, inescapable.
Director
Paco Cabezas
Mario Casas
Juan
Natalia de Molina
Triana
Ruth Díaz
Eli
Carlos Bardem
Santacana
Vicente Romero Sánchez
Andrés
Paulina Fenoy
Estrella
Mauricio Morales
Chico Santos
Sebastián Haro
Barroso
Mona Martínez
María
Pilar Gómez
Maravilla
Pablo Gómez-Pando
Nando
Consuelo Trujillo
Kempes' Mother
Mariola Fuentes
Neighbor Paqui
Juan Carlos Villanueva
Police Chief Commissioner
Carlos Cabra
Pepe el Rata
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
First communion in Spain is massive social theater — the Santos family's desperate performance of respectability mirrors real working-class pressures. Mario Casas, typically a heartthrob, completely deglamorized himself for this role.
The shantytown setting isn't exotic backdrop — director Paco Cabezas grew up adjacent to these communities. That final birthday party sequence was reportedly shot with real neighbors as extras.
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