''Brain Drain'' () is a 2009 Spanish romantic comedy film directed by

Fernando González Molina Fernando González Molina (born 10 November 1975) is a Spanish film and television director. Biography Fernando González Molina was born in Pamplona, Navarre, on 10 November 1975. He studied audiovisual communication at the University of Nava ...

and starring

Mario Casas Mario Casas Sierra (born 12 June 1986) is a Spanish film and television actor. Known for his roles in Spanish cinema and television, he has received various accolades including a Goya Award, a Gaudí Award, and three Feroz Awards. In 2006, ...

and

Amaia Salamanca Amaia Salamanca Urízar (born 28 March 1986) is a Spanish actress, best known for her role as Catalina Marcos in the Spanish version of the Colombian TV series '' Sin tetas no hay paraíso'' and as Alicia Alarcón in series '' Gran Hotel''. Bio ...

. The film is an A3 Films production. The production started on 14 July 2008 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

, and its premier was on 24 April 2009. Due to great success at the Spanish box office, the film spawned off a sequel, ''Brain Drain 2'' (2011).

Plot

The film begins with an 18 year old Emilio (''

'') who credits his amorous misadventures with Natalia (''

'') to his physical problems ( orthodoncy, orthosis, etc.) When he is 18, he finally gets rid of all his dental paraphernalia and has a chance to confess to Natalia his love. But when she gets a student grant to attend

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(England), all his friends try to help him by going to Oxford too with fake grants. However, once there, the group must confront several problems, such as their poor English and their disabilities and quirks (one of Emilio's friends is blind, another is

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

and the last one is a drug dealer). Despite their impediments, they do their best to help Emilio get closer to Natalia, with disastrous results.

Cast

as Emilio Carbajosa Benito *

as Natalia * Alberto Amarilla as José Manuel "Chuli" Sánchez Expósito *Gorka Lasaosa as Rafael "Ruedas" Garrido Calvo *Pablo Penedo as Felipe "Corneto" Roldán Salas *Canco Rodríguez as Raimundo "Cabra" Vargas Montoya *

Blanca Suárez Blanca Martínez Suárez (born 21 October 1988) is a Spanish actress. She gained notoriety for her performance in Globomedia teen drama series '' The Boarding School'' (2007–10), which was followed by '' The Boat'' (2011–13). Her television ...

as "Angelical voice"/Speaker *Sarah Mühlhause as Claudia *Simon Cohen as Edward Chamberlain * Carlos Santos as Potro *Reg Wilson as Professor *

Asunción Balaguer María Asunción Balaguer Golobart (8 November 1925 – 23 November 2019) was a Spanish actress. She appeared in more than 100 films and television shows from 1952 to 2016. In 1983, she played ''El barón'', by Leandro Fernández de Moratí ...

as Emilio's grandmother *Joan Dalmau as Emilio grandfather *

Álex Angulo Alejandro Angulo León (12 April 1953 – 20 July 2014), better known as Álex Angulo, was a Spanish actor who performed in over sixty films during his career spanning more than 30 years. Life Born in Erandio, Biscay, Angulo made his feature ...

as Cecilio Garrido *

Loles León María Dolores León Rodríguez (born 1 August 1950), better known as Loles León, is a Spanish actress. Career León travelled to Madrid to start a career as an actress, where she met Pedro Almodóvar during La Movida Madrileña. She has pla ...

as Rita Calvo * David Fernández Ortiz as Loren Sánchez *

José Luis Gil José Luis Gil Sanz (born 9 December 1957) is a Spanish actor. Career He started his career when he was ten years old. His most popular roles are Juan Cuesta in the TV series ''Aquí no hay quien viva'' and Enrique Pastor in ''La que se avecina ...

as Manuel Roldán *

Mariano Peña Mariano Peña García (born 7 April 1960) is a Spanish actor, regular and voice actor. He is primarily known for his portrayal of Mauricio Colmenero in the comedy television series ''Aída'', which gained him wide popularity and multiple accolade ...

as Julián Roldán * Fernando Guillén as Natalia's grandfather *

Antonio Resines Antonio Fernández Resines (born 7 August 1954) is a Spanish film and television actor. Resines made his feature film debut in 1980 in ''La paloma azul'', also featuring in '' Opera prima'' and ''La mano negra''. He gained early notoriety in th ...

as Natalia's father *

Óscar Casas Óscar Casas (born 21 September 1998) is a Spanish actor. Biography Óscar Casas was born on 21 September 1998 in Barcelona. He made his television debut as an actor at age 6 in the series ''Abuela de verano'', whereas he made his feature film ...

as Young Emilio Carbajosa Benito (11 years old) *Oliver Vigil as Young Emilio Carbajosa Benito (8 years old) *Andrea Diaz as Young Natalia

Reception

In its first week at the Spanish theaters, the film reached €1.22 mill at the office box and nearly 200,000 spectators saw it. With those takings, ''Brain Drain'' was the first on the Spanish box and a hit forward to '' State of Play''. Meanwhile, in the international box office: in United States, the film got $1,614,121 in its first weekend at cinemas. The total income amounted to almost €7 million, becoming the biggest blockbuster Spanish film in 2009. The film itself, however, was panned by critics. On

Letterboxd Letterboxd ( ) is an online social cataloging service for film founded (partially with investment company Tiny since 2023) and owned by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011, and headquartered in New Zealand. Members can rate and review ...

the movie has a 2-star rating.

References

External links

* * {{Fernando González Molina 2009 films 2009 romantic comedy films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Films directed by Fernando González Molina Films set in the University of Oxford Spanish romantic comedy films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links