25 Carat

Colour, 35 mm
Spain, 2008, 86 min
Section: Variety Critics’ Choice

Synopsis

As down-to-earth, wiry and taut as the ex-boxer it features, this Spanish thriller plays by the rules while bringing enough verve and freshness to its gallery of characters to remind us that the rules are there for a reason. A first-class cast infuses this breathless yarn of life in Barcelona’s underbelly with a credibility it rarely loses: Aida Folch plays a car thief whose father (Manuel Moron) is involved in bigger scams that, to her despair, almost always go wrong. She catches the eye of onetime pugilist Abel (Francesc Garrido), who’s struggling to raise a son of his own and recognizes in her a good woman who’s been forced into criminality against her will. The plot twists and doubles back as the stakes rise, each scene turning the screws a little tighter, while leaving enough space to explore the film’s twin father-child relationships.