''May God Save Us'' ( es, Que Dios nos perdone, links=no, translation, May God Forgive Us) is a 2016 Spanish crime thriller film directed by

Rodrigo Sorogoyen Rodrigo Sorogoyen del Amo (born 16 September 1981) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He won the Goya Award for Best Director and the Goya Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' The Realm''. He was previously nominated for the Goya ...

and written by Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña. It stars Antonio de la Torre and

Roberto Álamo Roberto Martínez Felipe (born 1 January 1970), better known as Roberto Álamo, is a Spanish actor who has appeared in more than fifty films since 1996. Álamo won the 2016 Goya Award for Best Actor for his performance as Javier Alfaro in ''May ...

as a couple of flawed police investigators tracking down a serial killer of elderly women 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 ...

Plot

In the hot summer of 2011, against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the

15-M Movement The anti-austerity movement in Spain, also referred to as the 15-M Movement (Spanish: ''Movimiento 15-M''), and the Indignados Movement, was a series of protests, demonstrations, and occupations against austerity policies in Spain that began aro ...

, Madrid is swarmed by a million and a half of pilgrims awaiting the visit of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. Two police inspectors are commissioned to investigate a brutal serial killer who rapes and kills older women. The two inspectors will have to solve the case in a short time and without too much clamor. The ending is unexpected and after three years from the facts told.

Cast

Production

The screenplay of ''May God Save Us'' was penned by Isabel Peña and

. The film was produced by Tornasol Films,

Atresmedia Cine Atresmedia Cine (formerly Ensueño Films and Antena 3 Films) is the studio belonging to Grupo Atresmedia responsible for producing films. It was created in 2000. History The film production company was created after the enacting of the Spanish ...

, Mistery Producciones AIE and Hernández y Fernández PC, with the participation of

Atresmedia Atresmedia Corporación de Medios de Comunicación, S.A., previously Grupo Antena 3, is a Spanish media group, present in the television, radio and filmmaking industries. Significant shareholders include Grupo Planeta and Bertelsmann. On 6 Marc ...

Movistar+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by Telefónica, which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL and as well as with satellites such as ...

and

Telemadrid Telemadrid is a public regional television station in the Community of Madrid, Spain, the flagship channel of the regional public broadcaster Radio Televisión Madrid (RTVM). It began its broadcast on 2 May 1989. History First years Telema ...

. Outdoor scenes in Malasaña involved shooting in the Maestro Guerrero and Desengaño streets. In addition to Madrid, footage was also shot in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, taking advantage of the Canarian archipelago's tax incentives. The film was edited by Alberto del Campo and

Fernando Franco Fernando Franco García (born 1976) is a Spanish film editor, director and screenwriter. Biography Fernando Franco García was born in Seville in 1976. He earned a licentiate degree in audiovisual communication from the University of Seville and ...

Release

The film had its world premiere in September 2016 at the 64th

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...

, screened in the festival's main competition. Distributed by

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 28 October 2016.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that Sorogoyen "mixes up police procedural, social crit, character study, black humor and Catholicism into a taut and distinctive whole", summing up as a bottom line: "sweaty and suspenseful". Carlos Marañón 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) ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a benchmark noir for Madrid's Augusts, supported by a dedicated and well-understood ''

costumbrismo ''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19t ...

'', and channeling Spain's recent past. Quim Casas of ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sell ...

'' also gave it 4 out of 5 stars, considering the Sorogoyen shoots well the oppression of the moment and the atmosphere, with the film, up until certain point, "confronting and unscrewing the two protagonists, both of whom are plunged into their own hells". 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 the film features a "a superb work of art direction and

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

with a vehement and very attractive camera", offering a socially disheartening portrait of Madrid, assessing that the film may only raise doubts in regard of the "excessive psychological explanations". He also wrote about the cast's "fabulous" performances, from Álamo and De la Torre to those actors barely declaiming a few lines.

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "17" , 2017 , , rowspan = "2" , 22nd 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 = "2" , , - , Best Actor , , Roberto Álamo , , , - , rowspan = "7" , 4th Feroz Awards , , 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 ...

, , Rodrigo Sorogoyen , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen , , , - ,

Best Actor (film) ''Best Actor'' is a 2010 Malayalam-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Martin Prakkat. It stars Mammootty, Sruthi Ramakrishnan, Nedumudi Venu, Lal, Salim Kumar, Vinayakan, Master Vivas, Sreenivasan, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Ma ...

, , Roberto Álamo , , , - , Best Supporting Actor (film) , , Javier Pereira , , , - , Best Original Score , , , , , - , Best Trailer , , , , , - , rowspan = "6" ,

31st Goya Awards The 31st Goya Awards were presented at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel in Madrid on 4 February 2017 to honour the best in Spanish films of 2016. Actor and comedian Dani Rovira was the master of ceremonies for the third time in a row. Nomina ...

, , colspan = "2" ,

, , , , rowspan = "6" , , - ,

, , Rodrigo Sorogoyen , , , - , Best Actor , , Roberto Álamo , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Javier Pereira , , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , , - , Best Editing , , , , , - ,

26th Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 26th Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 13 March 2017 at the Circo Price in Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolita ...

, , Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role , , Javier Pereira , , , , , - , 4th Platino Awards , , Best Editing , , , , , , , -

References

External links

* {{authority control 2016 thriller films Spanish crime thriller films 2010s Spanish-language films Films set in Madrid 2010s serial killer films Films set in 2011 Tornasol Films films Atresmedia Cine films Films shot in Madrid Films shot in the Canary Islands 2010s Spanish films Spanish neo-noir films