''Lullaby'' ( es, Cinco lobitos, links=no, translation, Five Wolf Cubs) is a 2022 Spanish drama film directed and written by

Alauda Ruiz de Azúa Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (born 1978) is a Spanish filmmaker. Her full-length debut ''Lullaby'' (2022) earned critical acclaim, and won her the Goya Award for Best New Director. Biography Born in Barakaldo, Biscay, in 1978, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa earn ...

. It stars

Laia Costa Laia Costa Bertrán () (born February 18, 1985) is a Spanish actress who has worked in Spain, Russia, Germany, Argentina, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. Life and career Costa was born in Barcelona, Spain. Costa obtained a degree ...

and

Susi Sánchez Asunción Sánchez Abellán (born March 21, 1955), known as Susi Sánchez, is a Spanish theater, film, and television actress. Career Susi Sánchez is best known for her roles in the Vicente Aranda film '' Mad Love'', where she gives life to Qu ...

alongside

Ramón Barea José Ramón Barea Monge (born 13 July 1949), known as Ramón Barea, is a Spanish actor. Biography José Ramón Barea Monge was born in Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , ...

and Mikel Bustamante.

Plot

After giving birth Amaia returns to her parents' home as her partner is away for some time.

Cast

Production

The project underwent development at the ECAM's incubator program. The film was produced by Encanta Films, Sayaka Producciones and BuenaPinta Media, and it had the participation of

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 ...

, EiTB and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and funding from ICAA, the Basque Government, the Madrid regional administration and Crea SGR. Shooting lasted for 5 weeks and it took place in between

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

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

(

Mundaka Mundaka ( es, Mundaca) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. On the coast, Mundaka is internation ...

and

Bakio Bakio ( eu, Bakio, es, Baquio) is a municipality in the province of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. Location and characteristics It is a small valley which is drained inland by the River Estepona. This valley is surrounded by mountains to the ...

). In addition to Spanish, it also features Basque- and English-language dialogue.

Release

The film had its

world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its firs ...

in February 2022, screened as part of the

72nd Berlin International Film Festival The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021 the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's drama ...

's Panorama section. It also screened at 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, i ...

on 20 March 2022 as part of the festival's main competition. Distributed by BTeam Pictures, it was theatrically released in Spain on 20 May 2022.

Reception

Critical reception

According to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Lullaby'' has a 100% approval rating based on 10 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.3/10. 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. ...

'' presented the film as an "absorbing mother-daughter drama set on the Basque coast", deeming it to be strongest "in the subtle and compassionate characterisation of its women". Pere Vall of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting the "absence of broad-brush" and the "duel/deal" between the two "grandiose" Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez. Irene Crespo 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) ...

'' also gave it 4 out of 5 stars, summarizing the film as "a brilliant and emotional debut beyond motherhood" in her veredict. Spanish film director

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

called the film "undoubtedly the best debut in Spanish cinema for years", expressing the mother-daughter relationship as "a portrait of the role of women within the family, which is truthful, devoid of sentimentality and that does not exclude humor" and highlighting the performance of Laia Costa. In August 2022, the members of the

Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain The Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain ( es, Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España, links=no) is a professional organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of Spanish cinema. Founded in 198 ...

selected ''Lullaby'' in their shortlist of three pre-selections for their submission to the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film alongside ''

Alcarràs Alcarràs is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia. It includes a small exclave to the south. Etymology Of Arabic origin, in ancient documents (12th century) it appears with the form ''Alcaraz''. According to Arabist ...

'' and '' The Beasts''.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2022:

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "8" , 2022 , , rowspan = "4" , 25th

, , colspan = "2" , Golden Biznaga for Best Spanish Film , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Actress , , Laia Costa & Susi Sánchez , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - , colspan = "2" , Audience Choice Award , , , , , - , rowspan = "4" , 28th Forqué Awards , , colspan = "2" ,

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , , , rowspan = "4" , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Film Actress , , Laia Costa , , , - , Susi Sánchez , , , - , colspan = "2" , Cinema and Education in Values , , , - , rowspan = "29" align = "center" , 2023 , ,

15th Gaudí Awards The 15th Gaudí Awards ceremony, organised by the Catalan Film Academy, will be held on 22 January 2023 at the MNAC's Oval Room. It will be hosted by . Background The awards added three new categories, namely that of Best New Director, Best A ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best European Film , , , , , - , rowspan = "7" ,

10th Feroz Awards The 10th ceremony of the Premios Feroz, presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España, will talke place at the Auditorio de Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain, on 28 January 2023, to recognize the best in Spanish cinema and te ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Drama Film , , , , rowspan = "7" , , - ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - , Best Actress in a Film , , Laia Costa , , , - , Best Supporting Actress in a Film , , Susi Sánchez , , , - , Best Supporting Actor in a Film , , Ramón Barea , , , - , Best Soundtrack , , Aránzazu Calleja , , , - , - , 2nd Carmen Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Non-Andalusian Film , , , , , - , rowspan = "9" , 78th CEC Medals , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "9" align = "center" , , - , Best New Director , , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - , Best Actress , , Laia Costa , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Susi Sánchez , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Ramón Barea , , , - , Best New Actor , , Mikel Bustamante , , , - , Best Original Screenplay , , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Jon D. Domínguez , , , - , Best Editing , , Andrés Gil , , , - , rowspan = "11" ,

37th Goya Awards The 37th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain, is scheduled to take place at the FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre in Seville, Andalusia on 11 February 2023. Background On 31 May 20 ...

, , colspan = "2" ,

, , , , rowspan = "11" , , - , Best New Director , , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - ,

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 ...

, , Alauda Ruiz de Azúa , , , - ,

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

, , Laia Costa , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Susi Sánchez , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Ramón Barea , , , - , Best New Actor , , Mikel Bustamante , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Jon D. Domínguez , , , - , Best Editing , , Andrés Gil , , , - , Best Sound , , Asier González, Eva de la Fuente López, Roberto Fernández , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , María José Díez , ,

References

External links

* {{authority control 2022 drama films 2022 films Films shot in Madrid Films shot in the Basque Country (autonomous community) 2020s Spanish-language films Films about mother–daughter relationships 2020s Spanish films Spanish drama films