In the year 2000, Maixabel Lasa’s husband, Juan Maria Jauregi, was killed by ETA. Eleven years later, she receives an incredible request: one of the men who killed Juan wants to meet with her in the Nanclares de la Oca prison in Araba (Spain), where he is serving his sentence after breaking ties with the terrorist group. Despite her reservations and her immense pain, Maixabel Lasa agrees to meet face to face with those who ended the life of the person who had been her companion since she was 16 years old. ‘Everyone deserves a second chance’, she said, when asked why she was willing to confront the man who killed her husband.
Acting
Blanca Portillo's silences speak louder than any dialogue.
Direction
Icíar Bollaín refuses easy catharsis—brutally honest.
Writing
No villains, no heroes, only shattered people negotiating peace.
Director
Icíar Bollaín
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
ETA dissolved in 2018, but Spain's Basque Country still navigates this trauma daily; the film premiered when wounds remained politically raw.
The real Maixabel Lasa attended the premiere and reportedly sat silently through the credits.
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