That Was Life

That Was Life (Spanish: La vida era eso) is a 2020 Spanish drama film directed and written by David Martín de los Santos. It stars Petra Martínez and Anna Castillo as two Spanish immigrants who form a friendship after meeting in a hospital in Belgium.

That Was Life
Theatrical release poster
SpanishLa vida era eso
Directed byDavid Martín de los Santos
Written byDavid Martín de los Santos
Produced byDamián París
José Carlos Conde
StarringPetra Martínez
Anna Castillo
CinematographySantiago Racaj
Production
companies
Lolita Films
Mediaevs
Magnética Cine
Smiz&Pixel
Distributed byElamedia Estudios
Release dates
  • November 2020 (2020-11) (SEFF)
  • December 10, 2021 (2021-12-10) (Spain)
Running time
109 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Plot

María and Verónica, two Spanish immigrants of different generations, meet in a hospital in Belgium where they form a friendship after an unexpected event, this leads María to embark on a journey of self discovery through the Spain she left many decades ago.

Cast

Production

The film began shooting in May 2019 in different locations of Spain in Almeria and Cabo de Gata, later in Ghent, Belgium. Santiago Racaj was the cinematographer and Javier Chavarría was the production designer, other credits include Tonucha Vidal (casting director), Eva Valiño (sound) and Miguel Doblado (editing).[1]

Release

The film was screened at the 17th Seville European Film Festival (SEFF), where it won the ASECAN award for Best Film and Best Actress for Petra Martínez.[2][3] The film had to postpone its release in cinemas several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately being scheduled to be released on December 10, 2021.[4]

Critical reception

The performance of Martínez was met with acclaim, Demetrios Matheou from Screen International wrote that "Martinez, well into her seventies when she shot this, gives a strong, minimalist performance".[5] Writing for Cineuropa, Alfonso Rivera commented that "David Martín de los Santos makes his debut in fiction with a humble, emotional and intimate film, that supports its subtle theme over the experienced performance of the great Petra Martínez".[6]

Accolades
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
202127th Forqué AwardsBest Actress (film)Petra MartínezNominated[7]
34th ASECAN AwardsBest FilmNominated[8]
Best DirectorDavid Martín de los SantosNominated
Best ScreenplayDavid Martín de los SantosNominated
Best ActressPetra MartínezWon
20229th Feroz AwardsBest Actress (film)Petra MartínezWon[9]
Best Supporting Actress (film)Anna CastilloNominated
1st Carmen AwardsBest Fiction Feature FilmLa vida era eso AIENominated[10][11]
Best ScreenplayDavid Martín de los SantosNominated
Best Production SupervisionDamián ParisNominated
Best ActressPetra MartínezWon
Best Original SongEstrella Morente & Fernando VacasNominated
Best New DirectorDavid Martín de los SantosWon
Best EditingMiguel DobladoNominated
Best Supporting ActressPilar GómezNominated
77th CEC MedalsBest New DirectorDavid Martín de los SantosWon[12]
Best ActressPetra MartínezNominated
36th Goya AwardsBest ActressPetra MartínezNominated[13]
Best New DirectorDavid Martín de los SantosNominated
30th Actors and Actresses Union AwardsBest Film Actress in a Leading RolePetra MartínezWon[14]
Best Film Actress in a Secondary RoleAnna CastilloNominated

See also

References
  1. "Empieza en Almería el rodaje de 'La vida era eso', que protagonizan Petra Martínez y Anna Castillo". CineyTele (in Spanish). May 27, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  2. ""La vida era eso", premio ASECAN a la Mejor Película del Festival de Sevilla". Agencia EFE (in Spanish). November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  3. "Petra Martínez, por "La vida era eso", premio a la Mejor Actriz en el Festival de Sevilla". Canal Sur (in Spanish). November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ""La vida era eso" drama vitalista que llega a los cines el 10 de diciembre". Cinemagravia (in Spanish). May 17, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  5. Matheou, Demetrios (July 23, 2021). "'That Was Life': Transilvania Review". Screen International. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  6. Rivera, Alfonso (September 11, 2021). "Crítica: La vida era eso" (in Spanish). Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  7. Rebolledo, Matías G. (11 December 2021). "Lista completa de ganadores de los Premios Forqué 2021". La Razón.
  8. "'La hija', mejor película andaluza del año en los Premios ASECAN 2021". Cine con Ñ. 18 December 2021.
  9. "Palmarés completo de los Premios Feroz Zaragoza 2022". Cinemanía. 30 January 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
  10. "'Alegría y 'Sevillanas de Brooklyn', las más nominadas a los primeros Premios Carmen del Cine Andaluz". Audiovisual451. 14 December 2021.
  11. "'La hija' de Manuel Martín Cuenca, coronada en la primera edición de los Premios Carmen del cine andaluz". Audiovisual451. 31 January 2022.
  12. "'El amor en su lugar' arrasa en las Medallas CEC con hasta seis premios, todos los principales". Cine con Ñ. 10 February 2022.
  13. "Palmarés completo de los Premios Goya 2022: 'El buen patrón', mejor película". Cinemanía. 12 February 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
  14. Aller, María (15 March 2022). "Premios Unión de Actores 2022: 'El buen patrón' arrasa entre los premiados". Fotogramas.
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