Criticism of ‘In the margins’, the first feature film by Juan Diego Botto

A priori, it was not difficult to imagine what a first film directed by Juan Diego Botto would be like: honest, frontal, looking at what so many other films that we attend week after week do not usually tell, not in vain our man is, in his job and in life, someone who has never been silent in the face of injustice. From there, and despite a certain predictability in the plot, in this, his debut, he gets a rare but very effective cross between ‘Cerca de tu casa’ by Eduard Cortés and ‘Un día de furia’ by Joel Schumacher, that yes, without guns or dead. His description of the day-to-day life of a group of subordinate characters relates to the first, those who never appear in the media, except for major incidents, and their efforts not to lose their home or dignity: both speak, finally, of the PAH and their struggles against evictions. With Schumacher’s film, the fast-paced action, which takes place in the same day, in which everything that can be twisted, twists.

moving performances

It cannot be said that the film is a paragon of compositional taste, but on the other hand, it boasts a consistent montage, which maintains an intensity that never wanes. And above all, it highlights the impressive acting work achieved by the new director, which protects the film from any harsh criticism: what Tosar and Cruz do here is simply amazing and moving, he in his role as troubled conscientious shyster and she, a supermarket stocker fighting for her house, someone oblivious to any idea of ​​glamour. With Tosar we are facing one of the great actors, not only of our cinema, but of cinema simply, something that he confirms here with an exercise of overflowing humanity, opportunism worthy of a good cause and infinite fatigue in the face of an adverse reality. And Cruz, who in addition to being a star is a very good actress, places her work in line with what, in my opinion, is still her best performance: the battered protagonist of Don’t Move by Sergio Castellitto.

life dignified

They, very well aided by some luxury supporting cast (such as the director himself, who reserves a very ungrateful role for himself), are the beaten flesh that many would not want to see, but there it is, human beings worthy of living what this Constitution Ours, which smells more and more like wet paper, promised them one day. They are as real as that reality that you don’t want to see from the wealthy neighborhoods of any Spanish city. They are, quite simply, life dignified.

For those interested in what happens a little beyond the door of your house

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DATA SHEET

Address: Juan Diego Botto Distribution: Penelope Cruz, Luis Tosar, Adelfa Calvo, Juan Diego Botto Country: Spain, Belgium Year: 2022 Release date: 6–10-2022 Gender: Drama Script: Juan Diego Botto, Olga Rodriguez Duration: 105 minutes

Synopsis: The countdown of three characters with three intertwined stories trying to stay afloat and survive key 24 hours that can forever change the course of their lives. The film explores the effect that a situation of economic stress has on personal relationships and how affection and solidarity can be an engine to get ahead.