Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 07/29/2008
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: Espanol
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Flags: Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Lionsgate
Following his award-winning
Familia (1997), 30-year-old writer-director
Fernando Leon de Aranoa set this Spanish drama in Madrid's grim working-class fringe neighborhood. Caught in the concrete jungle, 15-year-old friends Rai (
Crispulo Cabezas), Manu (
Eloi Yebra), and Javi (
Timy) pass the summer dreaming of girls and sandy beaches. Javi is surprised by the sexual interest of his pals in his sister Susi (
Marieta Orozco). Minus a vehicle, Manu struggles to keep his pizza delivery job. Entering a contest for an exotic vacation, Rai instead wins a jet ski -- which is stolen before he manages to profit by selling it. Manu and his father (
Francisco Algora) lie about Manu's absent junkie brother, while Javi's mother (
Alicia Sanchez) gets a court restraint to deal with Javi's violent father (
Enrique Villen). The film features a soundtrack of Spanish rap and rock. At the 1998
San Sebastian Film Festival,
Leon de Aranoa received a "Best Director" award plus two other awards for screenwriting.
~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide