''Cold Winter Sun'' () is a 2004 Spanish drama film directed and written by which stars

Unax Ugalde Unax Ugalde Gutiérrez (born 27 November 1978) is a Spanish actor. Early life Unax Ugalde Gutiérrez was born on 27 November 1978, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain. He is the son of a worker at the Altos Hornos and a housewife. Whil ...

and

Marisa Paredes María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé (3 April 1946 – 17 December 2024), known professionally as Marisa Paredes, was a Spanish actress with a long illustrious career. She acted in more than 75 films, 80 tv shows and 15 plays – with some of Europe ...

alongside Javier Pereira,

Marta Etura Marta Etura Palenzuela (born on 28 October 1978) is a Spanish film and television actress. She is known for '' Your Next Life'' (2004), '' Cell 211'' (2009), '' Sleep Tight'' (2011), and '' The Invisible Guardian'' (2017). Biography Etura was ...

, Raquel Pérez, and

Andrés Gertrúdix Andrés Gertrúdix (born 1977) is a Spanish actor. Biography Andrés Gertrúdix was born in 1977 in Madrid. He made his feature film debut in Ray Loriga's ''My Brother's Gun''. He is the partner of actress Marian Álvarez, whom with he has fea ...

Plot

The fiction is set in an unidentified city. Upon leaving a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

, Adrián (a young man from a well-off family) feels betrayed by his father, who has left the city, leaving his son the family house. He crosses paths with Gonzalo, an outcast who has a complicated relationship with his mother Raquel, a hooker.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was penned by Pablo Malo. The film was produced by (Zine 1). It boasted a budget of around €1.2 million. It was shot in October 2003 in the surroundings of

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, with some footage shot in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Release

''Cold Winter Sun'' premiered at the 52nd

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

in September 2004. It also screened at the Viña del Mar International Film Festival, 4th 'EuropFilm' Mallorca Film Festival and the 5th Tudela Debut Film Festival. Distributed by Nirvana, it was theatrically released in Spain on 12 November 2004.

Reception

Nuria Vidal of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is a Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó ...

'' rated the film 3 of 5 stars deeming it to be a "cold film", "in which the characters live in an absolute loneliness made of strange relationships between each other that gradually unravel". Casimiro Torreiro of ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' described ''Cold Winter Sun'' as a crime film displaying "a thick tone and a considerably gloomy look", hampered by the overaccumulation of edgy elements which thereby compromise the verisimilitude of a debut film otherwise promising vis-à-vis its making and the direction of actors.

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "4" align = "center" , 2005 , , rowspan = "2" ,

19th Goya Awards The 19th Goya Awards took place in Madrid, Spain on 30 January 2005. ''The Sea Inside ''The Sea Inside'' () is a 2004 psychological drama film co-written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who also co-produced, scored and edited. It is based ...

, ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V'' **Runners-up: Steve Kloves – '' ...

, , Pablo Malo , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Editing , , Antonio Pérez Reina , , , - , rowspan = "2" ,

14th Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 14th Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 20 June 2005 at Madrid's Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones. The gala was hosted by Concha Velasco Concepción Velasco Varona (29 November 1939 – 2 December 2023), known prof ...

, , rowspan = "2" , Best Film Actress in a Minor Role , , Marta Etura , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Raquel Pérez , ,

References

{{authority control 2004 drama films 2004 films 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish drama films Films shot in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Films shot in Lisbon 2000s Spanish films