''After'' is a 2009 Spanish drama film directed by Alberto Rodríguez which stars

Guillermo Toledo Guillermo "Willy" Toledo Monsalve (born 22 May 1970) is a Spanish actor and producer. Besides his stage career he is also noted as polemicist and for his political activism. Biography Guillermo Toledo Monsalve was born in Madrid on 22 May 19 ...

Tristán Ulloa Tristán Ulloa (born 6 May 1970) is a Spanish actor, writer, and director. Career He was born in Orléans and lived with his Spanish grandparents exiled in France. He spent his teenage years in Vigo, Galicia. His mother, Esther San Román, lives ...

and Blanca Romero.

Plot

The plot tracks three friends (Julio, Manuel and Ana) nearing their forties with a sort of

Peter Pan syndrome Peter Pan syndrome is a pop-psychology term used to describe an adult who is socially immature. It is a metaphor, based on the concept of not growing up and being trapped in childhood. It is not a recognized mental health illness. The term has ...

and lives full of full of dissatisfaction and loneliness. After they meet up, they embark on an attempt to enjoy the night full of sex, drugs and alcohol.

Cast

Production

The film is a Tesela PC and La Zanfoña Producciones production. Featuring a budget of around €2.5 million, filming began on 23 June 2008 and wrapped in September 2008. It was fully shot in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Release

''After'' screened at the 4th

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'Og ...

on 17 October 2009. Distributed by Alta Films, it was theatrically released in Spain on 23 October 2009.

Reception

Javier Ocaña of ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'' wrote that Rodríguez's remarkable fourth feature film, consisting of "a journey into the depths of the night", and "led by three superb performances", is a collection of highly effective (even if sometimes overly marked) symbols. 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)( ...

'' scored 4 out of 5 stars, summing the film to be "a new generational portrait that revolves around the vertices of an isosceles triangle fumigated by sex, drugs and alcohol", knowing "how to transmit the uneasiness, sensuality and truth of a generation that is emotionally hopeless". Robert Koehler of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' assessed that the "aggressively vapid" film "is acid noir with a flashy surface", offering "little except examples of how not to live". Manuel J. Lombardo of ''

Diario de Sevilla ''Diario de Sevilla'' is a Spanish newspaper founded in 1999 in Seville. It is part of the communications group Grupo Joly. Its circulation as of 2013 was 23,172. The current ''Diario'' is not to be confused with a previous periodical of the sam ...

'' wrote that Rodríguez's realistic style is blurred (Seville "never looked so ghostly"), while, vis-à-vis the performances, he pointed out that Guillermo Toledo's lysergic excesses are offset by Tristán Ulloa's neat academic restraint", while Blanca Romero comes out successful of her portrayal of chronic dissatisfaction.

Accolades

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24th Goya Awards The 24th Goya Awards were given in 2010 to honour the best in Spanish filmmaking of 2009. ''Cell 211'' won the award for Best Film. Winners and nominees Major awards Other award nominees Honorary Goya * Antonio Mercero Antonio Mercer ...

, ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, , Rafael Cobos, Alberto Rodríguez , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best New Actress , , Blanca Romero , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Alex Catalán , ,

References

{{reflist 2009 drama films Spanish drama films Films set in Seville Films shot in the province of Seville 2000s Spanish-language films 2000s Spanish films