Jacobo returns to the city of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, Northern Spain, after an absence of some years. His father, a sculptor had been killed by his schizophrenic mother, Carmen, who is now in an institution. Soon Jacobo begins feeling the presence of his dead father in the form of a ghost that seems to haunt him.
The young man rekindles the friendship with the beautiful Maria, who he now sees as a different person and he begins to see her under a new light. The problem is that Jacobo can't get away from the horrors he feels by the spirit of his dead father and the horrible conditions under which his mother is living at the present.
The basic problem with this film is the screen play and the way its director Xavier Villaverde deals with the story. The film, at first, seems like a horror story, but is it really? It appears to be a nightmare living in Jacobo's mind that he can't liberate himself. The city of Santiago takes center stage as it's added to the story like another character. Moments of great intensity alternate with others in which the action disappears, thus creating an uneven film.
Juan Diego Botto does an excellent job as Jacobo, the torn young man who is at odds with his past and his present. Luis Tosar plays the dead father with great style. Elvira Minguez is seen as the sick mother, Carmen. Marta Etura appears as Maria, the woman who loves Jacobo.
The young man rekindles the friendship with the beautiful Maria, who he now sees as a different person and he begins to see her under a new light. The problem is that Jacobo can't get away from the horrors he feels by the spirit of his dead father and the horrible conditions under which his mother is living at the present.
The basic problem with this film is the screen play and the way its director Xavier Villaverde deals with the story. The film, at first, seems like a horror story, but is it really? It appears to be a nightmare living in Jacobo's mind that he can't liberate himself. The city of Santiago takes center stage as it's added to the story like another character. Moments of great intensity alternate with others in which the action disappears, thus creating an uneven film.
Juan Diego Botto does an excellent job as Jacobo, the torn young man who is at odds with his past and his present. Luis Tosar plays the dead father with great style. Elvira Minguez is seen as the sick mother, Carmen. Marta Etura appears as Maria, the woman who loves Jacobo.
