''Code Name: Emperor'' ( es, Código Emperador, links=no; also known under the working title ) is a 2022 political thriller and

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

directed by Jorge Coira and written by

Jorge Guerricaechevarría Jorge Guerricaechevarría (born 10 July, 1965), also known as 'Guerrica', is a Spanish screenwriter. A regular co-scribe of Álex de la Iglesia's films, he has also been a recurring collaborator of Daniel Monzón. He won a Goya Award for the scri ...

. The cast, led by

Luis Tosar Luis López Tosar (born 13 October 1971) is a Spanish actor and musician from Galicia. He is one of the most recognizable and versatile actors in Spain, best known for performances in films such as ''Cell 211'', ''Take My Eyes'', '' Sleep Tigh ...

, also features Alexandra Masangkay,

Georgina Amorós Georgina Amorós Sagrera (30 April 1998) is a Spanish actress known for her television work on series including ''Elite'', '' Welcome to the Family'' and '' Locked Up''. She is also known for promoting various social justice causes through social ...

, Denis Gómez,

Miguel Rellán Miguel Ángel Rellán García (7 November 1942) is a Spanish actor. He was the first actor to win a Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Tata mía ''Dear Nanny'' ( es, Tata mía) is a 1986 Spanish drama film directed and written by Jos ...

and

Arón Piper Arón Julio Manuel Piper Barbero (; ; born 29 March 1997) is a Spanish -German actor and musician. He is known for playing List of Elite characters#Ander Muñoz, Ander Muñoz in the Netflix teen drama ''Elite (TV series), Elite''. Biography A ...

, among others. It is about an intelligence agency operative who faces ethical challenges when he is told to lure a newly elected congressman into a honey trap with an underage teenage girl.

Plot

Juan is a middle-aged Spanish intelligence agency operative who leads a small team that includes a male

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

and a female operative with a range of skills. He juggles tracking a wealthy couple who are involved in meetings with a neo-Nazi leader and a weapons trafficker and surveillance of a young congressman. To gain access to the weapons trafficking couple's mansion, Juan and his team stage a kidnapping of the couple's live-in Filipino maid, Wendy, and they make it seem as if Juan is another kidnapping victim. The team throw the pair out of the vehicle at a stop. This set-up gives Juan the opportunity to meet Wendy. He romances her, which gives him access to the mansion so he can install hidden cameras. As the surveillance of the weapons traffickers continues, Juan continues to meet with Wendy to gain access to the house. His team discovers evidence that the couple are planning to bring

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2713 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisoto ...

into Spain, which may be part of a

dirty bomb A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the dispersal agent/conventional explosion with ...

plot. Even though Juan is using his sexual relationship with Wendy as part of the surveillance operation, he starts to become emotionally attached to her. She tells him of her dream of saving enough from her work as a maid to return to the Philippines and open a bed and breakfast hotel with her sisters. Juan's boss, a career-driven, politically-connected officer named Galan, assigns Juan to look into the life of newly-elected congressman Ángel González for illegal or unethical conduct. When Juan's team does hacking and video surveillance and it does not reveal any improprieties, Galan instructs Juan to lure the politician into a compromising situation. Juan pressures Marta, a teenage girl he knows from a previous case, to participate in a

honey trapping Honey trapping is an investigative practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including state espionage), or monetary purpose. The ''honey pot or trap'' involves making contact with an individua ...

set-up. She sends flirtatious messages to Angel on a dating site. She meets Angel for drinks at a fancy nightclub and then plays it coy. Juan contrives a seeming "chance encounter" with her when Angel is on a work trip. She goes back to Angel's hotel room (in which Juan has had a video camera installed). After they have sex, she goes into the bathroom and smashes her nose into the sink, and then flees into the hall. Juan confronts Angel and tells him that he has just had sex with a minor and assaulted her. Marta feels sickened by her participation in the setup, and she smashes Juan's surveillance-cam laptop and flees. Juan finds the distraught teen at her apartment and retrieves his laptop. Despite the damage, the sex recording is intact. Meanwhile, as the weapons trafficking case develops, Wendy discovers that Juan has been using her to get access to the house and she is upset at his deception. After Juan and his team track the Cobalt-60 shipment and arrest the smugglers, police arrest the weapons trafficking couple, but Wendy was out of the house. He asks her to stay at his apartment until she can resettle. Reluctantly, she agrees. When police arrest Wendy and threaten to deport her, Juan provides information to Galan, who explains that the intelligence service tries to ensure that they have compromising information on all politicians, to help the government to control leaders. Galan promises that Wendy will be released. Juan gets her travel documents and a ticket to the Philippines so she can flee. He gives a

hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...

of his surveillance operations to a reporter and tells her to

blow the whistle ''Blow the Whistle'' is the sixteenth studio album by the American rapper Too Short. It was released on August 29, 2006, via Jive Records. It features artists such as Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Tha Dogg Pound, will.i.am, Mistah F.A.B. and David Banne ...

on the intelligence agency's unethical and illegal practices. He then abandons his old life to join Wendy in the Philippines.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by and Proyecto Emperador AIE alongside Playtime, with participation from

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

and TVG and support from ICAA, and

MEDIA Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

. In April 2021, Vaca Films reported the beginning of filming in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Other shooting locations included

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Release

The film was presented on 18 March 2022, opening the 25th

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, ...

. Domestically distributed by A Contracorriente Films, it was theatrically released in Spain on the same day.

acquired the distribution rights elsewhere.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' described the film as a "a high-speed, intense, and slickly packaged ride through the dark and nasty tunnels of state power".

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "8" align = "center" , 2023 , , rowspan = "8" , 21st

Mestre Mateo Awards The Mestre Mateo Awards, known in Galician as ''Premios Mestre Mateo'', are the main film awards in Galicia, celebrated annually. The awards were established in 2002 by the Galician Academy of Audiovisual as a continuation and expansion of the C ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "8" , , - , Best Director , , Jorge Coira , , , - , Best Actor , , Luis Tosar , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Denís Gómez , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , María Liaño , , , - , Best Original Score , , Xavi Font, Elba Fernández , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Susana Veira, Beatriz Antelo , , , - , Best Sound , , Carlos Mouriño, Diego Staub, Yasmina Praderas , ,

References

External links

* {{IMDb title
''Código Emperador''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' 2022 films 2020s political thriller films 2020s spy thriller films Spanish spy thriller films Films set in Spain Films shot in Galicia (Spain) Films shot in Madrid Films shot in Budapest Films shot in Panama Spanish political thriller films Films shot in Bilbao Vaca Films films 2022 thriller films 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s Spanish films