The Contestant

The Contestant (Spanish: Concursante) is a 2007 Spanish black comedy film directed by Rodrigo Cortés in his directorial debut feature. It stars Leonardo Sbaraglia.

The Contestant
Theatrical release poster
SpanishConcursante
Directed byRodrigo Cortés
Screenplay byRodrigo Cortés
Produced by
  • Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson
  • Xavier Villaverde
Starring
CinematographyDavid Azcano
Edited by
  • Guillermo Represa
  • Rodrigo Cortés
Music byVíctor Reyes
Production
companies
  • Lazona Films
  • Continental Producciones
  • Nephilim Producciones
  • Filmax
Distributed byFilmax
Release dates
  • 11 March 2007 (2007-03-11) (Málaga)
  • 16 March 2007 (2007-03-16) (Spain)
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Plot

The plot follows a lecturer on economic history (Martín Circo Martín) who wins the biggest prize ever (a set of prizes valued in €3 million) in a television game show in Spain, only to find out that the tax authorities want to keep a large part of the prize and he has no way to pay off his debts.[1][2]

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Lazonafilms, Continental, Nephilim Producciones, and Filmax and it had the participation of TVE and TVG.[4] Shooting locations included A Coruña.[2]

Release

The film screened at the 10th Málaga Film Festival on 11 March 2007.[5] Distributed by Filmax,[4] it was released theatrically in Spain on 16 March 2007.[6]

Reception

Jonathan Holland of Variety considered that Cortés "fails to take the premise anywhere interesting, but the pic has a madcap, contempo energy that could find it offshore fans".[4]

Pere Vall of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting an electric performance by Sbaraglia as the best thing about the film.[6]

Accolades
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
200822nd Goya AwardsBest Original Song"Circus Honey Blues" by Víctor Reyes, Rodrigo CortésNominated[7][8]
6th Mestre Mateo AwardsBest FilmNominated[9][10]
Best DirectorRodrigo CortésNominated
Best ScreenplayRodrigo CortésNominated
Best ActorLeonardo SbaragliaNominated
Best Supporting ActorLuis ZaheraWon
Chete LeraNominated
Best EditingGuillermo Represa, Rodrigo CortésWon
Best SoundSergio Burman, Charlie Schmucler, Fran GudeNominated

See also

References
  1. Lafont, Isabel (12 March 2007). "La otra cara de la fortuna". El País.
  2. Molezún, F. (20 December 2005). "Leonardo Sbaraglia termina de rodar «Concursante» en A Coruña". La Voz de Galicia.
  3. Maldivia, Beatriz (13 March 2017). "Trailer de 'Concursante', con Leonardo Sbaraglia". Espinof.
  4. Holland, Jonathan (25 March 2007). "The Contestant". Variety.
  5. "Rodrigo Cortés realiza una sátira del funcionamiento del sistema financiero en 'Concursante'". Diario Sur. 11 March 2007.
  6. Vall, Pere (29 May 2008). "Concursante". Fotogramas.
  7. "Los ganadores de los Goya 2008". 20minutos.es. 4 February 2008.
  8. "Concursante". premiosgoya.com. Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  9. "A Academia Galega do Audiovisual anunciou esta mañá a listaxe de nomeados". Academia Galega do Audiovisual. 7 March 2008.
  10. "Entregados os Premios Mestre Mateo 2007 no Teatro Jofre de Ferrol". Academia Galega do Audiovisual. 16 April 2008.
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