''A Dead Man Cannot Live'' ( es, Hombre muerto no sabe vivir, link=no) is a 2021 Spanish action thriller film directed and written by Ezekiel Montes. The cast, led by

Antonio Dechent Antonio Dechent (born 1960) is a Spanish actor. Born in Seville, he is specialised in supporting roles ''Supporting Roles'' ( es, Papeles secundarios) is a 1989 Cuban drama film directed by Orlando Rojas. The film was selected as the Cuban e ...

, also features

Rubén Ochandiano Rubén Ochandiano (born 3 October 1980) is a Spanish actor and director. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1997. He has worked with some of the most interesting film directors over the world: Pedro Almodovar, Alejandro González Iñ ...

, Elena Martínez, Jesús Castro,

Paco Tous Francisco Martínez Tous (born 1 May 1964), known professionally as Paco Tous, is a Spanish actor. He is best known for his starring roles as Paco in the television series ''Los hombres de Paco'' (2005–2010; 2021) and as Agustín "Moscow" Ramo ...

Nancho Novo Venancio Manuel Jesús Novo Cid-Fuentes (born 17 September 1958), known as Nancho Novo, is a Spanish actor. He studied medicine at Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, but stopped halfway to move to Madrid, where he studied acting at the '' ...

and

Manuel de Blas Manuel de Blas Muñoz (born 12 April 1941) is a Spanish film, television, and stage actor. Biography Manuel de Blas was born in Badajoz in 1941. He spent his childhood in Córdoba and subsequently moved to Madrid to study political science. ...

Plot

The film is set in the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

, featuring real-estate corruption as a backdrop. The plot follows Tano, the henchman of Manuel, a real-estate businessman who has got too old. The ways of Ángel, Manuel's son and heir-apparent, complicate things.

Cast

Production

''A Dead Man Cannot Live'' is Ezekiel Montes' debut feature film. He took over direction,

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

and

script development Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

duties. Filming began in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

on 11 November 2019. Other shooting locations also included

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

and

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. The film was produced by 73140323 PC alongside CineAND Distribución.

Release

The film premiered at the 24th

Málaga Spanish Film Festival Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

(FCME) on 8 June 2021. Distributed by

Filmax Filmax International is a Spanish motion picture production company and film distributor based in Barcelona, and one of Spain's largest integrated film and television groups. It produced the ''REC'' horror series, and owns the Nirvana Films an ...

, the film was theatrically released in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 2 July 2021.

Reception

Alberto Luchini of '' Metrópoli'' gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, considering that despite a number of positive points, such as Dechent's great performance, those of Elena Martínez and Nancho Novo, the well-done atmosphere, the notable cinematography and the staging, the screenplay was "sheer nonsense". Sergio F. Pinilla of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin) ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a hyperviolent

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

with a "colossal cast", and a "somewhat confusing narrative". Federico Marín Bellón of ''

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'' gave the film, which features "uncomfortable violence", 2 out of 5 stars. He considered that, top-rate cast notwithstanding, a "disjointed choreography of gunpowder" is eventually unleashed in the film, "upon which narrative and editing failures are accentuated". Carmen L. Lobo of '' La Razón'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that it is "a wild film with some stereotypes and script weaknesses thrown in but it keeps you gripped throughout".

Awards and nominations

, - , align = "center" , 2021 , , 34th ASECAN Awards , , Best Actor , , Antonio Dechent , , , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "11" , 2022 , , rowspan = "11" , 1st Carmen Awards , , Best Actor , , Antonio Dechent , , , , rowspan = "11" , , - , Best Original Song , , Chelo Soto , , , - , Best New Director , , Ezekiel Montes , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Eduardo Pérez, Juan Ventura, Víctor Alcalá , , , - , Best New Actress , , Elena Martínez , , , - , Best Editing , , José. M. G. Moyano , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Ezekiel Montes , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Paco Tous , ,

References

External links

A Dead Man Cannot Live
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dad Man Cannot Live, A Spanish action thriller films 2020s Spanish-language films 2021 films Films set in Andalusia 2021 action thriller films Films shot in the province of Málaga Films shot in the province of Cádiz 2020s Spanish films