May God Save Us

In the hot summer of 2011, against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the 15-M Movement, Madrid is swarmed by a million and a half of pilgrims awaiting the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. Two police inspectors are commissioned to investigate a brutal serial killer who rapes and kills older women. The two inspectors will have to solve the case in a short time and without too much clamor. The ending is unexpected and after three years from the facts told.

The screenplay of May God Save Us was penned by Isabel Peña and Rodrigo Sorogoyen.[5] The film was produced by Tornasol Films, Atresmedia Cine, Mistery Producciones AIE and Hernández y Fernández PC, with the participation of Atresmedia, Movistar+ and Telemadrid.[6] Outdoor scenes in Malasaña involved shooting in the Maestro Guerrero and Desengaño streets.[7] In addition to Madrid, footage was also shot in Tenerife, taking advantage of the Canarian archipelago's tax incentives.[8] The film was edited by Alberto del Campo and Fernando Franco.[9]

The film had its world premiere in September 2016 at the 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival, screened in the festival's main competition.[10] Distributed by Warner Bros,[6] the film was theatrically released in Spain on 28 October 2016.[11]

Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Sorogoyen "mixes up police procedural, social crit, character study, black humor and Catholicism into a taut and distinctive whole", summing up as a bottom line: "sweaty and suspenseful".[9]

Carlos Marañón of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a benchmark noir for Madrid's Augusts, supported by a dedicated and well-understood costumbrismo, and channeling Spain's recent past.[12]

Quim Casas of El Periódico de Catalunya also gave it 4 out of 5 stars, considering the Sorogoyen shoots well the oppression of the moment and the atmosphere, with the film, up until certain point, "confronting and unscrewing the two protagonists, both of whom are plunged into their own hells".[13]

Javier Ocaña of El País wrote that the film features a "a superb work of art direction and mise-en-scène with a vehement and very attractive camera", offering a socially disheartening portrait of Madrid, assessing that the film may only raise doubts in regard of the "excessive psychological explanations".[5] He also wrote about the cast's "fabulous" performances, from Álamo and De la Torre to those actors barely declaiming a few lines.[5]

• List of Spanish films of 2016

• May God Save Us at IMDb