EL MAR

As children during the Spanish Civil War, Andreu Ramallo, Manuel Tur and their friend Francisca already live in a world of political assassinations and a resultant atmosphere of hatred and suspicion between adults and children. On one decisive day, their lives are irrevocably affected when they witness the vengeful slaying of one child by another, provoked by adult political intrigue. The tragedy marks the children, who silently carry the secret into their adulthood.

Years later, the three meet again as young adults, again in dire circumstances. Ramallo and Manuel have both been admitted to a hospital for the care of tuberculosis. They find Francisca there, now a nun working as a hospital nurse for the afflicted patients, many of them gravely ill. Having so far averted the worst ravages of this epidemic, Ramallo and Manuel face other torments in their close quarters. Ramallo, who has spent many of his growing years as an underground assistant and sometime sex partner to a middle-aged drug runner, chafes under the attentions of the callous older man, even now in the hospital, and seeks release from this exploitative relationship. Sensitive Manuel has sought solace from past and present horrors in an intense, religious devotion that subsumes his repressed sexual desires, especially those he furtively harbors for his old friend, Ramallo. Only Francisca knows the darkest secrets her friends harbor, and only to God can she confess these. With a shared, desperate desire to outrun the hazards and sorrows of their young lives, the three protagonists turn their eyes and their efforts toward anything that seemingly offers deliverance, setting up moments of lyrical tenderness and collisions of cataclysmic impact.

Director Agustin Villaronga authentically invests this strange, beautiful story with an edgy intensity, such as only isolated, hungry souls know. Featuring enthralling performances, and superbly atmospheric cinematography and sound, the film compellingly evokes that sense of a bright horizon somewhere offscreen, which keeps its characters looking upward in hope.

Directed by Agustîn Villaronga
107 min. / in Catalan




Optional English or Spanish subtitles
5.1 Dolby surround sound
16:9 widescreen
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"A beautifully constructed work, brimming with imagery that haunts the mind for days afterwards."
THE SPINNING IMAGE

“Eye-catching, bravura camerawork and editing!”
TIMEOUT

“Casamajor is mesmerizing as the cocksure Ramallo who thinks of little other than his own self-interest, and Bergonzini is similarly entrancing as the devout Manuel.”
J.P., METRO WEEKLY (Washington D.C.)

"The male leads inhabit their roles with complete conviction. The steely photography of Jaume Peracaula and the eerie music score by Javier Navarrete are among the film's major accomplishments."
David Stratton, VARIETY

"Impressive. Classy."
Michael Thomson, BBC




Manfred Salzgeber Award & Golden Bear Nominee Berlin Film Festival
Spain Academy Awards Nominee Best Cinematography and Best New Actress




Berlin Film Festival
San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival