From ‘Maixabel’ to ‘Carmina y amen’: 10 great female protagonists of Spanish cinema from the last ten years

Paco Plaza has built the most satisfying film of his career starting from real events with a high supernatural content and transforming them into a universal terror like growing up. Accepting the burdens of life, the insecurities that surround us and the courage with which we must face defeats and victories are concepts with which the Valencian director has woven a dense and traditional suspense which, supported by an exceptional staging, dazzled with pure talent .

With “Verónica” you jump off the couch and fidget on it with your nails clenched but, within minutes, you’re moved to tears with one of the most powerful outcomes of the Spanish Terror in a long time and an absolutely memorable protagonist. A project born as a commission and ended up becoming the most personal work of a director dedicated to the cause.

Veronica in eCartelera

Using three short stories by Alice Munro, Pedro Almodóvar confirmed with ‘Julieta’ what was an obvious fact, finding himself in the most contained, literary and delicate moment of his career. It can be confused with solemnity or emotional grandiloquence, especially for those who have never been in communion with his cinema, but it would be to remain in gratuitous prejudice, in voluntary blindness. In the case of “Juliet”, Everything makes sense in a film that allows the viewer to fill in the gaps in the story, complete the journey of its protagonist, decide the fate of a woman marked by all the questions that fit a life. There are no easy tears, no beatings, just the lost gaze of a ghost walking the streets looking for the right path.

Almodóvar in a permanent state of grace. Almodóvar delivers a new masterpiece with the invaluable help of a group of interpreters who, as tradition dictates, do not descend from excellence. In the present case, both Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suárez they seem to have lived eternally in the universe of director Manchego, giving away two delicate, mysterious and fascinating works in their containment. Yet another example that, on many occasions, less is more.

Juliet at the eCartelera

Everything that worked in the remarkable ‘Carmina o revienta’, Paco León’s celebrated (justly) directorial debut, rose to honors in ‘Carmina y amen’, a sequel in which genius overflowed in every apartment. With dialogue as hilarious as it is touching, this continuation found itself once again the impressive presence of carmina barrios the greatest of its virtues, but accompanying it on this occasion by a series of secondary characters as hilarious as they are unforgettable. The confirmation of a wonderful director and a character destined to be part of the most dazzling history of Spanish comedy.

Carmina and amen to eCartelera

A name: Bianca Portillo.

You don’t need any more reasons to enjoy “Maixabel” again. And, in case that doesn’t seem like reason enough, let’s remember that with ‘Maixabel’ we are faced with the best film by the great Icíar Bollaín in more than a decade. An austere, raw, direct and deeply moving work led by an actress in a permanent state of grace.

Maixabel in eCartelera

Led by an impressive Laia Costa, main protagonist of a cast in which the total mastery of Susi Sánchez and Ramón Barea should also be underlined, ‘Cinco lobitos’ is one of those seemingly small films that end up becoming giants. And the best thing is that this aforementioned transformation is produced thanks to the details, minimal gestures, delicacy and sensitivity of a story whose emotional impact lasts over time, anchoring itself in the memory with the same tenderness with which it is told. . A wonderful feature film debut by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa.

Five wolves at eCartelera

With an impeccable cast in which he shone with particular intensity Barbara Lennie, magnetic, hypnotic, charming, ‘Magical Girl’ exploded before us as a completely different, risky, new cinema. A universe, that of Carlos Vermut, in which a thousand and one worlds fit together, without any of them disturbing each other. Quite the exact opposite.

A total talent that, with his second film, managed to end up defining a unique and identifiable personality through golden dialogues and a wise and generous direction in the number of unforgettable scenes. And so it is, it is still very difficult to stay with a specific moment within this superb cinematic work, a labyrinth in which one gets lost from its magnificent prologue and from which it never ends. ‘Magical Girl’ grabs you, hits you to the core and stays installed in your memory. The same thing happens with its protagonist.

Magical girl on eCartelera

Let’s start with strength: ‘Many children, a monkey and a castle’ is one of the most interesting, special and memorable debuts in Spanish cinema. As well as. Shot for more than a decade by the actor also Gustavo Salmerón, this documentary (yes, it is, even if it seems impossible) presents us with a family settled in the chaos, tradition and most recognizable customs of a country, ours, born from always dead and resurrected in the territory of imbalance, giving an almost absolute prominence to the matriarch, Julita, one of those revelations that Spanish cinema receives very occasionally and which should be celebrated as a real discovery.

She guides the viewer to the roaring laughter, furtive tears, Berlanguian surrealism and tenderness that surrounds the love of a lifetime, and does so with an overwhelming screen presence, stealing your heart from the first shot to the last. When it’s all over, and it’s done in the most memorable way possible, You know that Julita has remained in your heart forever, that you wouldn’t have minded spending two, three, ten more hours in her company and that you want her to experience what awaits you with that simplicity and that captivating happiness. A masterpiece.

Many children, a monkey and a castle in eCartelera

The winner of the Goya for best film in the fateful 2020 it was one of the few pleasant surprises in the strangest year of our lives. And it is that, among many closed rooms and subdued projects, ‘Las niñas’ has become a small and admirable cinematic phenomenon that has made us happy with an honest, simple cinema, great in its details and precious in its delicacy. A film that has moved several generations of viewers and viewers who have seen the exact reflection of childhood on the screen, with all the weight that this entails. A remarkable film. And a protagonist who is already the history of our cinema.

Girls on eCartelera

‘La novia’ was a countdown of feelings, reproaches and follies that Paula Ortiz was able to manage with medical precision, betting on the sensorial in favor of the gratuitous scream. In the end, how could it be otherwise, everything blew up, but even then the tape preferred to listen to Cohen rather than bloody knives. A waltz in the midst of delirium, a broken glass reflecting the full moon and a horse running wild in silence. And the unforgettable performance of Inma Cuesta.

With a performance that rose from the gut to a scream, Cuesta was the soul of the film. A figure lost between two wonderful men, Asier Etxeandia and Álex García, the actress’s dedication was total, stripping her body and soul, giving her immense eyes to a story in which the ghosts of the past, and of the future, weigh like chains . The best work of a career which, at this point, leaves no room for doubt: Inma Cuesta is one of the great actresses of our country.

The bride in eCartelera