'Esmorza amb mi', truncated lives (★★★), and other releases of the week
By Philipp Engel
Although Iván Morales has always dreamed of bringing these intersecting lives to film, the theater remains the medium in which they shine most brilliantly. In his freewheeling outing, the director's camera, with naturalistic photography by Agnès Piqué Corbera, maps the streets of the Raval, stopping at such iconic locations as its Rambla and Plaça Joan Coromines, and this delights the passerby. The leading quartet is also remarkable: we like Álvaro Cervantes, a ragpicker in the midst of a creative crisis; the wonderful Marina Salas, a former addict haunted by her ghosts; the convincing Iván Massagué, who reportedly managed to tame his family to help others, dressed as a nurse; and Anna Alarcón, the sole survivor of the theatrical performance, who survives an accident and dedicates herself to accumulating filmed testimonies about heartbreak. However, the central piece that gives it all meaning is missing.
The film itself may also give the impression that it's missing something to fully gel, so that the proposal can rise above the typical indie device, more or less effective, of crossed lives, with the typical forced coincidences, where the story of each of the characters loses strength and depth by sharing cinematic space with those of the others.
Read also This is what Angela and Álvaro Cervantes look like, the siblings who won the acting awards in Malaga. Leonor Mayor Ortega
The portrayal of Barcelona as a vibrant city, with music pulsing on every corner (although the reality is perhaps a little more depressing), is appreciated, even by the eccentric Oriol Pla's speech about how liberating it can be to rap in Catalan over urban rhythms. But, although breakfast remains the most important meal of the day (especially if it's shared), and the film has the added value of turning its back on the neoliberal scourge of brunch (in defense of the oxymoron of authentic Barcelona), the already redundant theme of healing leaves a certain aftertaste of medicine, of a pill melting under the tongue while we forget why we took it.
Even if the final epiphany manages to rally our emotions, we're likely no longer even clear about the diffuse problems that brought us here. After all, they're the concerns of ordinary people, too similar to our own.
Everything Will Be Fine ★★★★✩Directed by: Ray Yeung Cast: Patra Au, Maggie Li, Tai Bo Production: Hong Kong, 2024. 93 m. Drama Family resonanceBy Salvador Llopart
It begins with a happy family and an inheritance. We're in modern-day Hong Kong, where getting a house is just as complicated as it is here. And it ends with a family that's not as happy but more authentic, without hypocrisy. The sudden death of the owner of the disputed apartment unleashes the drama. On one side is his life partner of more than thirty years, with very few rights. On the other, the official family. If we were to be sarcastic, we could say, recalling an old joke on the subject, that nothing divides a family more than an unresolved inheritance—except, perhaps, envy, ambition, and, above all, a good lawyer.
But from this moment on, we banish irony. It has no place when discussing a delicate miniature like this, marked by the characters' truth and restrained emotion. Each member of the family, in their clashes, their desires, and also their weaknesses, reveals the latent conflict between old affections and vested interests. A radiograph of the family, then. Even more: an MRI. Sober, with a slow pace, though not slow at all. Prone to observation and detail. No one is out of place, and all the protagonists, in their own way, contribute truth. Their share of truth.
What's worth highlighting, however, is the subtle, delicate, and heartfelt work of Pat (Maggie Li), the owner, and especially of Angie (Patra Au), the disinherited widow, who maintains an accusatory silence that tinges the desperation she's experiencing with quiet resentment—and also doubts. This is an LGBT-based drama, indeed, that goes far beyond the letters of the alphabet. It highlights the clash between the traditional family and the family of choice, and underscores the conflict between justice and law. It advances with a melancholic breath, setting the tone in each of its images. The intimacy of the situation prevails over the noise thanks to the sensitivity of a young director like Ray Yeung, who also writes the script. A painful delight.
Let's vote ★★★✩✩Director: Santiago RequejoInterpreters: Clara Lago, Tito Valverde, Gonzalo de CastroProduction: Spain, 2025 (88 min) Comedy A political comedyBy Jordi Batlle Caminal
Filmed in a single location (an ordinary apartment) and in real time (a neighborhood gathering that takes an unexpected turn), this comedy addresses current issues (every imaginable phobia that leads to so-called cancel culture) with contagious freshness, verbal wit (and sharpness), and a powerful cast that successfully caricatures a recognizable citizenry prone to positioning itself as far to the right as possible. Yes: a funny, unpretentious political comedy.
Three kilometers at the end of the world★★★✩✩Director: Emanuel ParvuInterpreters: Ciprian Chiujdea, Bogdan DumitracheProduction: Romania, 2024 (105 min) Drama A despicable faunaBy Jordi Batlle Caminal
The young protagonist kisses another young man, a passing tourist, on the lips, and a storm breaks out in the small town; a town inhabited in a climate of murky corruption by a despicable fauna: the police chief, the local mobster and his sons, the unfortunate hero's parents and the priest (who even perform an exorcism to cure him), and so on. A harrowing portrait of a real homophobic Romania, the film is necessarily harsh, tough, tense, and relentless.
The perfect recipe ★★★★✩Director: Louise CourvoisierStarters: Clément Faveau, Maïwène BarthélémyProduction: France, 2025 (100 min) Comedy-dramatic The taste of ComtéBy Philipp Engel
The heart of Gaul has always been the subject of urban fantasies, from rural myth to rustic roughness, passing through popular comedy. But a vibrant woman from Auvergne has finally made a statement, showing the youth of her region unfiltered, with natural actors, outside the world of cinema, whom she captures between revelry and races. For life to become a refreshing and fascinating cinematic object, you have to find the right distance. It's not easy, but she succeeds very well.
The Barbarians ★★★✩✩Directed by: Javier Barbero and Martín GuerraCast by: Àlex Monner, Greta Fernández, Job Mansilla, Eliza RycembelProduction: Spain, 2025 (100 min) Drama Stranded on the outskirtsBy Philipp Engel
The presence of Monner and Fernández is striking, but the real standouts are the Peruvian actor Job Mansilla and, above all, the luminous Polish actress Eliza Rycembel, two migrants stranded on the outskirts of Madrid. The directors demonstrate an almost Antoninesque eye for capturing the space of a building under construction, which becomes the precarious home of the characters during a bursting of the real estate bubble. But the boredom they are forced into eventually prevails, perhaps more tedious than revealing.
Baltimore ★★★✩✩Director: Christine Molloy, Joe LawlorInterpreters: Imogen Poots, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Lewis BrophyProduction: Ireland, 2023. 98 m. Terrorism Historical fractalBy Salvador Llopart
Rose Dugdale was a child deeply involved in terrorism. She decided to annoy her parents and stand up to the system in the 1970s. She knew about art and the pain of losing it, and as a member of the IRA, she masterminded the largest heist of paintings in history, including a Vermeer. Molloy and Lawlor's film opts for small-scale, chamber-style terrorism, with flashbacks and flashbacks in time, where psychology prevails over adrenaline. The resulting painting is like a fractal of the moment. Evocative.
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