The allure of the occult and the pull of the forbidden served as the spark that lifted the curtain on the 67th Valladolid International Film Week, also known as Seminist, this Saturday at the festival’s Calderón Theatre. The mood in the room was electric as the film’s director explained the moment of inspiration that sparked the project. He described a fascination with looking and knowing that some doors should remain closed, a tension that mirrors the film’s own premise and its exploration of curiosity and boundary crossing.
The 107-minute feature centers on Damián, a man who loses his job and hides away in a closet, eventually taking refuge in a family home. The ensemble cast includes Leonor Watling, Álex Brendemühl, and María Romanillos, who bring to life a story about how ordinary spaces can become intimate theaters of hidden truths. A wardrobe malfunction during production becomes a narrative thread of its own, with a character named Leon developing a bond with the circumstances as if becoming another person. The setup evolves into scenes of quiet tension, punctuated by meals and casual moments that reveal a sense of isolation and offbeat companionship.
Juan Diego Botto joined the cast as the driver of a car, while the film also features appearances by the renowned journalist Iñaki Gabilondo, who plays himself in several segments. The Sevillian actor lauded Gabilondo’s presence, noting the journalist’s charisma and potential for a significant career ahead, even as he remains grounded in the role and the overall tone of the piece. The collaboration is described as seamless and confidently staged, inviting audiences to believe in the journalist’s on-screen persona and the film’s broader themes of reality and perception.
The project was brought to life by Félix Viscarret, a Navarrese director with a track record of both feature films and documentaries, including Under the Stars (2007) and Winds of Havana (2016). Viscarret has also translated his storytelling to television platforms, contributing to projects such as Netflix productions and HBO’s adaptation of Patria, establishing him as a versatile voice across media formats.
an adaptation
The film is based on the novel From the Shadows by Juan Jose Millás, and its adaptation into a cinematic form is noted for preserving the rhythm and texture of Millás’s prose while translating it into a visual language. The director has long explored Millás’s universe, tracing the author’s influence from a young reader’s perspective to a mature creator who sees life through a mirrored perspective. The process of translating a book’s pace into a screenplay presented its own challenges, moving from a literary cadence to something more cinematic, like a story told through images and sound rather than words alone.
Millás himself acknowledged that the screen adaptation surprised him with its ability to capture the essence of the original work in a format that remains faithful while opening new interpretive doors for viewers. The film has been praised for its technical execution, the strength of the performances, and its narrative approach, especially given the constraints of a tightly enclosed setting that nonetheless succeeds in revealing the protagonist’s inner life. The film’s synthesis of character dynamics, atmosphere, and storytelling earns it high marks for its overall craft and its daring treatment of a claustrophobic premise.
Leonor Watling delivers a standout performance as a character burdened by misfortune, in a role that required a delicate balance of empathy and resilience. Her collaboration with the screenplay team creates a compelling synergy between the source material and the finished film, offering a robust interpretation that honors the original text while expanding it for the screen. The cinematography captures the intimate scale of the production through subjective viewpoints and carefully chosen locations, guided by Alvaro Gutierrez’s lens, which reinforces the film’s introspective mood.
Musically, the score by Michael Salas provides a minimalist backdrop that amplifies the film’s contemplative atmosphere. The soundtrack culminates with a final note from Amaia Romero, a winner of a notable music competition in 2018, whose contribution helps close the film on a resonant, memorable tone with the track Más de la medio, slated for release on Friday, October 28th. The overall effect is a cinematic experience that invites audiences to reflect on perception, memory, and the fragile line between fiction and reality, all within a compact, richly layered narrative.