The Gentiles

The Gentiles (Spanish: Las gentiles) is a 2021 Spanish drama film, directed, written, produced, and scored by Santi Amodeo. It stars África de la Cruz and Paula Díaz alongside Olga Navalón, Lola Buero and Alva Inger.

Plot

Set in Seville, the plot tracks Ana, a teenager and social media enthusiast who feels attracted to Corrales, and which otherwise becomes acquainted with a suicide-related game.

Cast

• África de la Cruz as Ana
• Paula Díaz as Corrales
• Beatriz Cotobal
• Teresa Cruz
• Rafa de Vera
• Olga Navalón
• Lola Buero
• Alva Inger

Production

The film was produced by Grupo Tranquilo PC, Sacromonte Films and Las Gentiles AIE, with the participation of Canal Sur and funding from the Regional Government of Andalusia. Shooting began in February 2021 in Seville. Alex Catalán was responsible for the cinematography. The music was composed by Bronquio and Amodeo himself.

Release

The film was presented at the 18th Seville European Film Festival in November 2021. It also screened at the Tallinn Festival. Distributed by Alfa Pictures, it was theatrically released in Spain on 3 June 2022.

Reception

Paula Arantzazu Ruiz[es] of Cinemanía rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "encouraged by a suggestive clash between reality and virtuality", the "classic generational conflict" is resolved by Amodeo "with an unexpected and conventional way out" perhaps excessive for the reviewer, summing up as a bottom line: "live fast, die young and leave a beautiful story on Instagram".

Eulàlia Iglesias of Fotogramas also scored the film 3 out of 5 stars, opining that Amodeo "records with enviable naturalness the disorientation of youth in the time of social media", while citing the "excessive" shock value of the final twist as a negative point.

Javier Ocaña of El País considered the film to be "a story of exultant attitude and overwhelming personality in its young female characters".

Accolades

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2022