''Crime Wave'' ( es, Ola de crímenes, links=no) is a 2018 Spanish black comedy film directed by

Gracia Querejeta Gracia Querejeta Marín (; born 13 August 1962) is a Spanish filmmaker. Biography Born in Madrid in 1962, daughter to film producer Elías Querejeta and costume designer María del Carmen Marín. She studied Ancient History in the Universi ...

. The cast, led by

Maribel Verdú María Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...

, also features

Juana Acosta Juana Acosta Restrepo (born 28 November 1976) is a Colombian-Spanish actress. She has appeared in more than 40 films. Biography Juana Acosta was born in Cali, Valle del Cauca, on 28 November 1976. She made her television debut with an appeara ...

Paula Echevarría Paula Echevarría Colodrón (born 7 August 1977 in Candás, Carreño, Asturias, Spain) is a Spanish model and actress. Career In the year 2000 she made her television debut on series such as '' Al salir de clase'', ''Policías'', and '' Co ...

Antonio Resines Antonio Fernández Resines (born 7 August 1954) professionally known as Antonio Resines, is a Spanish film and television actor known for his performance in comedy films and series. Biography He was born 'by accident' on 7 August 1954 in Torr ...

Raúl Arévalo Raúl Arévalo Zorzo (born 22 November 1979) is a Spanish actor and director, known by international audiences for his role in the film '' Summer Rain'', directed by Antonio Banderas. Career Raúl Arévalo Zorzo was born on 22 November 1979 in ...

Luis Tosar Luis López Tosar (born 13 October 1971) is a Spanish actor and musician from Galicia. He is one of the most recognizable and versatile actors in Spain, best known for performances in films such as '' Cell 211'', '' Take My Eyes'', '' Sleep Tig ...

and

Javier Cámara Javier Cámara Rodríguez (born 19 January 1967) is a Spanish actor. He became known for two television roles as a priest in '' ¡Ay, señor, señor!'' and ''Éste es mi barrio''. He has since featured in films such as '' Torrente, the Dumb Arm ...

Plot

Set in

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

province of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, the plot follows the mishaps of Leyre, a well-off and happily divorced woman whose son has killed his father in a fit of rage, doing whatever it takes for the crime to remain unsolved, henceforth unleashing a wave of crimes across

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and its surroundings.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was penned by . The film is a

Telecinco Cinema Telecinco Cinema, S.A.U. is the film production division of Mediaset España. It produces both feature films and television films. History Telecinco Cinema is a subsidiary film company of Mediaset España. Formerly known as Estudios Picasso, the ...

, Bowfinger International Pictures, Historias del Tío Luis and Crimen Zinema A.I.E. production and it had the participation of

Mediaset España Mediaset España (), full name Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A., is a Spanish media company, controlled by the Italian company MFE - MediaForEurope. Its divisions include the generalist free-to-air TV channels Telecinco and Cuatro, thematic c ...

and

Movistar+ Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...

. It was shot in 2017 in locations of

, including

Getxo Getxo () is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in Spain. It is part of Greater Bilbao, and has 77,946 inhabitants (2019). Getxo is mostly an affluent residential area, as well as being the ...

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...

, as well as in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

. Luis Marías, Ghislain Barrois, Álvaro Augustin, María Luisa Gutiérrez,

Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...

and Eduardo Carneros were credited as producers.

Release

Distributed by Universal Pictures International Spain, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 5 October 2018.

Reception

Reviewing for ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sel ...

'', Beatriz Martínez rated the film with 2 out of 5 stars, lamenting the tone and the overly histrionic performances, considering that, despite welcoming the attempt to turn male archetypes into female ones, the result is uneven and nears a "retrograde" discourse. Sergio F. Pinilla of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, considering that Verdú does it well enough to sustain the film by herself, concluding that it was "silly, yes, but attractive". Jordi Batlle Caminal of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is 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 a ...

'' scored 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting the "perfectly matched" cast, while deeming the Querejeta's "stingy"

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

as the worst feature of the film.

Javier Ocaña Javier Ocaña (born 1971) is a Spanish film critic. Life and career Ocaña was born in 1971 in Martos, province of Jaén. He earned a licentiate degree in law from the University of Granada and a master's degree in journalism from the Autono ...

of ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' 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 . ''El ...

'' deemed ''Crime Wave'' to be a "deficient" film, configured as a madcap black comedy, yet rarely finding the right tone. Luis Martínez of '' Metrópoli'' gave it 3 out of 5 stars, considering ''Crime Wave'' a film "as liberating as absolutely free. Feverish and suicidal. All at the same time", where "it is obligatory to surrender to Verdú's ability to be herself in many more ways than imaginable".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 7459182
Crime Wave
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' Films shot in Bilbao Films shot in Madrid Films set in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Films set in Spain 2010s Spanish-language films 2018 films 2018 black comedy films Spanish black comedy films Films directed by Gracia Querejeta Telecinco Cinema films Bowfinger International Pictures films 2010s Spanish films