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The Beasts film image, director Rodrigo Sorogoyen

The Beasts

As bestas

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North American Premiere

In this gripping, tense rural thriller about a French couple trying to make a new life by starting a farm and fixing abandoned homes in Galicia, Spain, director Rodrigo Sorogoyen presents the feral underbelly of country life where tensions between foreigners and locals, educated and uneducated, brutally come to the fore. The sense of immediacy and undercurrent of aggression—emphasized by a pulsing, suspenseful score—permeate each masterful scene, as the conflict between French farmer Antoine and local brothers Xan and Lorenzo, escalates scene by scene.

Filled with powerful performances, especially by the brilliant Marina Foïs, who dominates the latter half of the film with her stubborn determination.

The latest from Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen is a terrific psychological thriller and a brooding, muscular piece of filmmaking which makes the most of both the Galician backdrop and the imposing physicality of Menochet and, as his nemesis Xan, the remarkable Luis Zahera.”—Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

 

Audience Award for Best European Film, San Sebastian 2022

Director
Cast

Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido, Marie Colomb

Credits
Country of Origin

Spain/France

Year

2022

Language

In Spanish, French, and Galician with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
137 min
Action Award Winners Drama

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Credits

Executive Producer

Sandra Tapia

Producer

Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Sandra Tapia Díaz, Eduardo Villanueva, Nacho Lavilla, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Jean Labadie, Anne-Laure Labadie, Thomas Pibarot

Screenwriter

Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Cinematography

Alejandro de Pablo

Editor

Alberto del Campo

Original Music

Olivier Arson

Art Director

Jose Tirado

Director

Rodrigo Sorogoyen headshot, The Beasts director

Rodrigo Sorogoyen

In addition to Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s extensive work in television, he has directed several award-winning films: Stockholm (2013), Que Dios nos perdone (2016), El Reino (2018), the Oscar-nominated short film Madre (2017), and its feature version in 2019. He recently directed the TV series Antidisturbios and El Doble, one of the four episodes in the remake of Historias para no dormir. His latest works are El Gestor, an episode for the series Apagón, and The Beasts, his fifth feature film.

Filmography: Stockholm (2013); Que Dios nos perdone (2016); El Reino (2018); Madre (2019)