''Love in Self Defense'' ( es, Amor en defensa propia, links=no) is a 2006 Spanish romantic drama film written, directed, and scored by Rafa Russo in his directorial feature debut. It stars Ana Fernández and

Gustavo Garzón Gustavo Garzón (born May 25, 1955 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film and television actor. He works in the cinema of Argentina.Freiburg,_Germany_ file:Juanes_ZMF_2015_jm49211.jpg.html" ;"title="Germany">Freiburg,_ Freiburg,_Germany_">Germany ...

Plot

Set in Spain's eastern coast, the plot follows the twisted relationship established between an idle woman claiming to be a painter (Adriana) and an Argentinian former football player turned scammer (Rubén) upon their meeting in a bar.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by

Mediapro Mediaproducción, S.L.U., better known as Mediapro, is a multimedia communications group in Spain founded in April 1994 in Barcelona. The company is well involved in movie and television production. The company holds branch offices in Madrid, Se ...

alongside NBCUniversal Global Networks, and it had the participation of Antena 3. It was shot in the provinces of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

Release

The film premiered in competition at the 9th

Málaga Film Festival The Málaga Film Festival, formerly Málaga Spanish Film Festival (FMCE), is an annual film festival held in Málaga, Spain. The festival was established to promote Spanish cinema and help disseminate information about Spanish films. Since 2017, ...

in March 2006. Distributed by UIP, it was theatrically released in Spain on 9 June 2006.

Reception

Jonathan Holland 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 "absorbing, slow-burning" film stars out "like a scam movie", "quickly mutating into something far more distinctive and emotionally complex", shining through its "commitment to its offbeat premise and its emotional truth". Casimiro Torreiro 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 ...

'' considered that the film abounds in situations that are very difficult to capture on film, failing at "building up plausible psychologies for its characters".

References