''Celia's Lives'' () is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican drama film directed and written by

Antonio Chavarrías Antonio Chavarrías (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, 1956) is a Spanish filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. Some of his most recognised films are '' Childish Games'' (2012), showed at the 2012 Berlinale (2012), '' Celia's Lives'' (2006) ...

which stars

Najwa Nimri Najwa Nimri Urrutikoetxea (; born 14 February 1972) is a Spanish actress and singer. In 1996, Nimri formed the musical duo ''Najwajean'' along with producer Carlos Jean, launching ''No Blood'', an early instance of a trip-hop album in Spain. S ...

and

Luis Tosar Luis López Tosar (born 13 October 1971) is a Spanish actor from Galicia. He is one of the most recognizable and versatile actors in Spain. He landed his film debut in '' Atilano for President'' (1998), followed by other roles in feature fil ...

Plot

The night Celia unsuccessfully attempts

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, a teenage girl (Melany) is

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d and murdered nearby. Miguel Ángel, the police officer in charge of finding the perpetrator of the crime, digs around Celia and her closest circle, including her two sisters (Carmen and Ángela) and her husband Agustín. While the cop suspects about the girl's boyfriend (Pedro), Celia suspects about her husband.

Cast

Production

A Spanish-Mexican co-production, the film was produced by Oberon Cinematográfica, TAU, and Altavista Films, and it had the participation of TVE and TVC.

Release

The film was presented at the 54th

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

's official selection in September 2006. It was also selected for the

Marrakech International Film Festival The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) (, Amazigh: ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵍⴼⵉⵍⵎ ⴳ ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ) is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco. It was established i ...

's main competition. Distributed by Nirvana, it was theatrically released in Spain on 19 January 2007.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' considered the "cunningly-structured noir" to be Antonio Chavarrías' "finest work to date". Nuria Vidal of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is a 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 ...

'' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising "the spaces and the characters", while citing "a certain confusion of times" as a negative point.

Javier Ocaña Javier Ocaña (born 1971) is a Spanish film critic. Life and career Ocaña was born in 1971 in Martos, province of Jaén. He earned a licentiate degree in law from the University of Granada and a master's degree in journalism from the Autonomo ...

of ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. 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 . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' considered that "with an agile, nervous production and very good performances" (especially by Tosar and Giménez Cacho) the film manages to portray a "desolate" (and perhaps a tad exaggerated) male panorama in relation to their treatment of women.

References