''Brain Drain'' ( es, link=no, Fuga de cerebros) is a 2009 Spanish romantic comedy film directed by

Fernando González Molina Fernando González Molina (born 10 November 1975) is a Spanish film and television director. Biography Fernando González Molina was born in Pamplona, Navarre, on 10 November 1975. He studied audiovisual communication at the University of Navar ...

and starring Mario Casas and Amaia Salamanca. The film is an A3 Films production. The production started on 14 July 2008 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

and

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

, and its premier was on 24 April 2009. Due to great success at the Spanish box office, the film spawned off a sequel, ''Brain Drain 2'' (2011).

Plot

The film begins with an 18 year old Emilio ('' Mario Casas'') who tells his amorous misadventures with Natalia ('' Amaia Salamanca'') due to all his physical problems ( orthodoncy, orthosis, etc.) When he is 18 he finally gets rid of all his dental appareils and has the chance to confess to Natalia his love. But when she gets a student grant to attend

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

(England), all his friends try to help him by going to Oxford too with fake grants. However, once there, the group must confront several problems, such as their poor English and their disabilities and quirks (one of the Emilio's friends is blind, other is paraplegic and the last one is a drug dealer). Nevertheless, and despite their impediments, they make their best to help him to get closer to Natalia with disastrous results.

Cast

* Mario Casas as Emilio Carbajosa Benito * Amaia Salamanca as Natalia *Alberto Amarilla as José Manuel "Chuli" Sánchez Expósito *Gorka Lasaosa as Rafael "Ruedas" Garrido Calvo *Pablo Penedo as Felipe "Corneto" Roldán Salas *Canco Rodríguez as Raimundo "Cabra" Vargas Montoya * Blanca Suárez as "Angelical voice"/Speaker *Sarah Mühlhause as Claudia *Simon Cohen as Edward Chamberlain * Carlos Santos as Potro *Reg Wilson as Professor * Asunción Balaguer as Emilio's grandmother *Joan Dalmau as Emilio grandfather * Álex Angulo as Cecilio Garrido *

Loles León María Dolores León Rodríguez (born 1 August 1950), better known as Loles León, is a Spanish actress. Career León travelled to Madrid to start a career as an actress, where she met Pedro Almodóvar during La Movida Madrileña. She has pl ...

as Rita Calvo * David Fernández Ortiz as Loren Sánchez * José Luis Gil as Manuel Roldán * Mariano Peña as Julián Roldán * Fernando Guillén as Natalia's grandfather *

Antonio Resines Antonio Fernández Resines (born 7 August 1954) professionally known as Antonio Resines, is a Spanish film and television actor known for his performance in comedy films and series. Biography He was born 'by accident' on 7 August 1954 in Tor ...

as Natalia's father *

Óscar Casas Óscar Casas (born 21 September 1998) is a Spanish actor. Biography Óscar Casas was born on 21 September 1998 in Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonom ...

as Young Emilio Carbajosa Benito (11 years old) *Oliver Vigil as Young Emilio Carbajosa Benito (8 years old) *Andrea Diaz as Young Natalia

Reception

In its first week at the Spanish theaters, the film reached €1.22 mill at the office box and nearly 200,000 spectators saw it. With those takings, ''Brain Drain'' was the first on the Spanish box and a hit forward to '' State of Play''. Meanwhile, in the international box office: in United States, the film got $1,614,121 in its first weekend at cinemas. The total income amounted to almost €7 million, becoming the biggest blockbuster Spanish film in 2009. The film itself, however, was panned by critics. On

Letterboxd Letterboxd is an online social networking service co-founded by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011. It was launched as a social app focused on sharing opinions about, and love of film, and is maintained by a small team in Auckland, Ne ...

the movie has a 2-star rating.

References

External links

* * {{Fernando González Molina 2009 films 2009 romantic comedy films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Films directed by Fernando González Molina Films set in the University of Oxford Spanish romantic comedy films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links