THE BEASTS
The Galician region of northwest Spain seems like an opportune area for French couple Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs) to spend their latter years farming and restoring dilapidated homes. However, their earnest enthusiasm for such a pastoral dream reeks of patronizing privilege to the handful of “hill people” families who have toiled on the land for generations. Leading the charge against the couple is the crude Xan (Luis Zahera). A habitual drunk, he treats every encounter at the local tavern with the more physically imposing Antoine as a classic Western showdown of intimidation and malice. It’s only a matter of time before tension boils over into outright war in an age-old clash of the haves and have-nots. Masterfully balancing the disparate point of views with each slow turn of the knife, co-writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen crafts an astonishing thriller that is as feral as it is elegant in creating heart-pounding scenes until the very end.
CAST: Marina Foïs, Denis Menochet, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido
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