SILVER

[FIN DE FIESTA]
Lonely divorcée Carmina (Sonia Barba) lives an empty life within her marvelous villa in Andalusia in southern Spain. Her boisterous parties may be a fun way to spend the time, but her friendships are shallower than she would like. When she discovers young Senegalese migrant Bilal (Edith Martínez Val) living in her shed, Carmina seizes the opportunity to help someone in need — and force a friendship — through a torturous combination of charm and manipulation. When Carmina’s housekeeper Lupe (Beatriz Arjona) also learns of Bilal’s existence, the charged dynamics between laborer, migrant and landowner come to the fore. In her directorial debut, Spanish filmmaker Elena Manrique crafts a frequently funny, yet sharp, critique of upper-class privilege propelled by a whirlwind performance from Barba. – Javier Chavez

Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Elena Manrique; PROD Belén Atienza, Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, Sandra Hermida, Hans Everaert, Carlos Rosado Sibón. Spain, 2024, color, 103 min. In Spanish and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED