''Días contados'' (English title: ''Running Out of Time''; literally: ''Numbered Days'') is a 1994 Spanish
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
directed and written by
Imanol Uribe
Imanol Uribe (born 28 February 1950) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. He won the Goya Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay for the 1994 thriller ''Días contados, Running Out of Time''.
Biography
Born in San Salvador on 28 F ...
. It features
Carmelo Gómez
Carmelo Gómez Celada (born 2 January 1962) is a Spanish actor. He is the recipient of two Goya Awards, for best supporting actor in '' The Method'' and best leading actor in '' Running Out of Time''. A very popular actor in 1990s Spanish cinem ...
,
Ruth Gabriel
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (born 10 July 1975), better known as Ruth Gabriel, is a Spanish actress.
Biography
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (her real name) was born in San Fernando (province of Cádiz) on 10 July 1975, daughter of actor Ismael Abellán and w ...
,
Candela Peña
María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (born 14 July 1973), professionally known as Candela Peña, is a Spanish actress. Since her film debut in the 1994 thriller '' Running Out of Time'', she has had a lengthy career in cinema. She won the Goya Award ...
, and
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopath, ...
, among others. It is based on the novel of the same name by
Juan Madrid
Juan Madrid (born 1947, in Málaga) is a Spanish writer, journalist and script writer.
Biography
He studied in Madrid and gained a degree in Contemporary History from the University of Salamanca. He has written for Cambio 16 since 1974, and this ...
.
Plot
Antonio, a brazen, individualistic
ETA
Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
terrorist, travels with two fellow cell members, Carlos and Lourdes to
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), an ...
, where they intend to carry out a
terrorist attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
on a police station. Just like Lourdes, with whom he shares a complex romantic liaison, Antonio is caught in a downward spiral of disenchantment and despondency with respect to the organization and the life he has led so far.
He moves into the area under the guise of an unassuming photographer for the
press, and finds himself falling for his neighbor, Charo, a naive prostitute with an impending drug problem who is unaware of Antonio's activities. She reciprocates, and Antonio uses her whimsical desire to have their first tryst in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
as an excuse to flee Madrid right after he shoots a police officer. Meanwhile, matters become complicated when Antonio's identity as a terrorist is made public and Charo's sleazy, drug-addicted acquaintance Lisardo, incidentally an
informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
, gives Antonio's identity away to corrupt police officer Rafa.
The film ends on a tragical note as the
car bomb (containing 100 kg worth of explosives) and the police car carrying Charo haplessly converge in front of the police station. Fuelled by his love, a self-destructive streak, or both, Antonio follows the car to the station gate right as Carlos presses the detonator.
Cast
Production
The film is an Aiete Films and Ariane Films production.
Ruth Gabriel
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (born 10 July 1975), better known as Ruth Gabriel, is a Spanish actress.
Biography
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (her real name) was born in San Fernando (province of Cádiz) on 10 July 1975, daughter of actor Ismael Abellán and w ...
was barely eighteen years old at the time of filming. The film argument justified several nudes scenes of the very young actress, who insisted while filming them so that none of the crew members were absent, in order to give the sequences the greatest naturalness.
Reception
''Días contados'' was nominated for
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sc ...
in 19 categories and won for the following:
* Best Actor (
Carmelo Gómez
Carmelo Gómez Celada (born 2 January 1962) is a Spanish actor. He is the recipient of two Goya Awards, for best supporting actor in '' The Method'' and best leading actor in '' Running Out of Time''. A very popular actor in 1990s Spanish cinem ...
)
* Best Director (
Imanol Uribe
Imanol Uribe (born 28 February 1950) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. He won the Goya Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay for the 1994 thriller ''Días contados, Running Out of Time''.
Biography
Born in San Salvador on 28 F ...
)
* Best Editing (Teresa Font)
* Best Film
* Best New Actress (
Ruth Gabriel
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (born 10 July 1975), better known as Ruth Gabriel, is a Spanish actress.
Biography
Ruth Sánchez Bueno (her real name) was born in San Fernando (province of Cádiz) on 10 July 1975, daughter of actor Ismael Abellán and w ...
)
* Best Screenplay – Adapted (
Imanol Uribe
Imanol Uribe (born 28 February 1950) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. He won the Goya Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay for the 1994 thriller ''Días contados, Running Out of Time''.
Biography
Born in San Salvador on 28 F ...
)
* Best Special Effects (
Reyes Abades
Reyes Abades (25 July 1949 – 1 February 2018) was a Spanish specialist in special effects. He won nine Goya Awards. Abades worked on more than 300 productions. He contributed to the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1992 Summer Olympics in ...
)
* Best Supporting Actor (
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopath, ...
)
See also
*
List of Spanish films of 1994
References
External links
*
*
1994 films
1990s Spanish-language films
Films set in Madrid
Films set in Andalusia
Best Film Goya Award winners
Films featuring a Best Actor Goya Award-winning performance
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Goya Award-winning performance
Films shot in Madrid
1994 thriller films
Spanish thriller films
Films about ETA (separatist group)
1990s Spanish films
Films based on Spanish novels
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