The Hours of the Day

Colour, 35 mm
Spain, 2003, 103 min
Section: Catalan Films

Synopsis

Abel lives with his mother in a small town near Barcelona. All his life has been spent between the small family shop, his mother’s home, his girlfriend’s bed, the kiosk on the corner, and local bars. As owner of a small clothes shop, his biggest excitement consists of arguments with his salesgirl Trini about giving her a pay rise. Unlike his friend, the owner of a newsstand, he’s come to terms with the fact that “you have to be content with what you’ve got.” He has no ambition, his lack of interest in anything at all chills even his unemployed girlfriend. Always the same problems, the same faces, the same conversations – that is until a chasm opens under this apparently quiet and polite man. A chasm for which there is no explanation, but which repeats itself inevitably. One Thursday afternoon Abel commits another murder… This is not a detective story, a look into morbid sexuality nor a psychological portrait. In the eyes of others Abel is a “normal person” who gets up just like they do, goes to work, eats, laughs, suffers… 

About the director

Jaime Rosales (b. 1970, Barcelona) graduated in economics from ESADE. In 1996, with already some work in film to his credit, he won a scholarship to the prestigious international film and television school San Antonio de los BaĖos (EICTV) in Havana, where he graduated in direction. In 1999 he won another scholarship as part of a student exchange between EICTV and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney. After returning home, he worked as a TV scriptwriter until 2001, when he began to cooperate with Fresdeval Films. Filmography (shorts): Virginia no dice mentiras (1997, awards at festivals in Paza and Camagüey, Cuba), Palabras de una revolución (1998), I Had a Pig Called Rubiel (Yo tuve un cerdo llamado Rubiel, 1998, prizes at festivals in Huesca, Havana and Santa Fe) and The Fish Bowl (La pecera, 1999, awards at festivals in Kiev and Figueira da Foz in Portugal). The Hours of the Day (2003) is his feature debut.