''Creatura'' is a 2023 Spanish

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed, co-written and starred by Elena Martín Gimeno. It is shot in Catalan.

Plot

Upon moving in to a family

summer house A summer house or summerhouse is a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed t ...

on the coastline of

Maresme Maresme () is a ''comarca'' (county) in the Barcelona region in Catalonia, located along the Mediterranean coast, between the ''comarques'' of Barcelonès (at the Southwest) and Selva (at the Northeast), and also bordering with Vallès Oriental ...

with boyfriend Marcel, Mila confronts sexual trauma, with flashbacks to her earliest moments of sexual awareness (5 years old) and her teenage years (15 years old).

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Vilaüt Films, Lastor Media, Avalon PC, and Elastica Films. It was produced in association with Suris/Bishop Film, and it had the participation of

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

and Filmin and backing from ICAA, ICEC and Creative Media Europe. It was shot in Catalan. Shooting locations in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

included

Sant Vicenç de Montalt Sant Vicenç de Montalt (), is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Sant Andreu de Llavaneres and Arenys de Mar, below the range, with the main settlement slightly inland. Th ...

L'Escala L'Escala () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Empordà in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the Costa Brava, located between the southern end of the Gulf of Roses and Cala (bay) Montgó. It is an important fishing port and ...

Blanes Blanes () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Selva (comarca), Selva in Province of Girona, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. During Roman rule it was named Blanda or Blandae. It is known as the ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

Release

The film world premiered in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2023. Distributed by Avalon, it was released theatrically in Spain on 8 September 2023.

Reception

The

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website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported an approval rating of 93% based on 14 reviews from critics. Nikki Baughan of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned ''Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involve ...

'' considered that the film, an exploration of the "close relationship between guilt, shame and desire" should "attract attention for its female-centric story and strong visual identity". Dustin Chang of ''

ScreenAnarchy ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'' deemed ''Creatura'' to be "an interesting film about how the female sexuality frightens men". Carlota Moseguí of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost po ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, underscoring it to be "a strong claim on the exposure of female desire" in the verdict.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023:

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 21869176 Films set in Catalonia 2020s Catalan-language films 2020s Spanish films Films shot in the province of Girona Films shot in the province of Barcelona Films about sexual repression Spanish drama films 2023 drama films Avalon films