''The Fortress'' ( es, La fortaleza, links=no) is a 2022 Spanish black comedy thriller film directed by which stars Fernando Cayo,

Goya Toledo Gregoria Micaela Toledo Machín (born 24 September 1969 in Arrecife, Lanzarote), professionally known as Goya Toledo, is a Spanish actress and model. She has appeared in ''Amores Perros'', '' Killing Words,'' and ''13 Roses''. Before venturing ...

, José Manuel Poga,

Fernando Tejero Fernando Tejero Muñoz-Torrero (born 24 February 1967) is a Spanish actor. Among his work, he has acted in multiple films, including '' Football Days'' (2003), for which he won the Goya Award for Best New Actor, and television series like ''A ...

, Vito Sanz, Carla Nieto, and Lola Casamayor.

Plot

Upon the death of their father Arturo Viaplana, the Viaplana siblings (Arturo, Mónica, Jorge, Eduardo, and Paula) meet at the reading of the testament to find out about the recipient of the hefty inheritance, only to find out that their deceased father has set a macabre game.

Cast

Production

The film is a Lolita Films, Womack Studios, Featurent and Un Fin De Semana Juntos AIE production. Produced in association with Glow, it also has the participation of Canal Sur Radio y Televisión and Canal Extremadura and backing and sponsoring from ICAA, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Crea SGR, and Ayuntamiento de Almendralejo. Shooting locations in the

province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the so ...

(Extremadura) included Mérida,

Almendralejo Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle a ...

, and Palomas.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 19th

Seville European Film Festival The Seville European Film Festival (SEFF; es, Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla, links=no) is an annual film festival dedicated to European cinema held in November in Seville, Spain, since 2004. The festival is an initiative of the Instituto d ...

in November 2022. Distributed by Syldavia Cinema, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 23 June 2023.

Reception

Sergio F. Pinilla of '' Cinemanía'' rated the "grotesque, macabre, and even a little bit coarse" film 3 out of 5 stars, underscoring it to be "a vernacular whodunit with more

Glass Onion A glass onion is a shape of bottle developed in the 17th century. The term may also refer to: * "Glass Onion" (song), a 1968 song by the Beatles. * '' Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'', a 2022 film by Rian Johnson ** ''Glass Onion: A Knives ...

than

Buñuel Buñuel is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

and Berlanga". Raquel Hernández Luján of ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' rated the film with 60 points ('acceptable'), pointing out that the efficiency of its best assets (the black humour and the broadsides) wanes as the film progressively deflates.

References