''Dioses y perros'' () is a 2014 Spanish drama film directed by David Marqués and Rafael Montesinos. It stars Hugo Silva and

Megan Montaner Megan Gracia Montaner (born 21 August 1987) is a Spanish actress and former model. She is known for her roles in television shows '' The Secret of Puente Viejo'', ''Grand Hotel'' and '' No Identity'', all broadcast on Antena 3. Most recently she ...

Plot

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 ...

tinged with

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

elements, the plot tracks the plight of Pasca, a man from

Vallecas Vallecas was a municipality of Spain that disappeared as such in 1950, when its annexation to the Municipality of Madrid was effectuated. Nowadays it is a large neighborhood of Madrid composed of two districts: Puente de Vallecas (population ...

working as a boxing

sparring Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively ' free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to minimize injuries. By extension, argumentative deba ...

and also taking care of his younger brother Toni. Pasca develops a relation with Adela, a lively young teacher and newcomer to the neighborhood.

Cast

Production

The screenplay is based on a story by Jaime Martínez Balmaseda. It was penned by David Marqués and Rafael Calatayud Cano. ''Dioses y perros'' is a Nadie es Perfecto PC production, and it had support from ICAA, IVAC,

Canal Nou Nou Televisió (), or simply Nou (Valencian for "nine" or "new"), previously known as Canal Nou ("Channel Nine" or "New Channel"), was a public television station in the Valencian Community, Spain. It was run by Radiotelevisió Valenciana (RTVV), ...

and Audiovisual SGR. Filming wrapped on 4 October 2013. Shooting locations included

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and

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 ...

Release

The film was presented at the

Málaga Film Festival The Málaga Film Festival, formerly Málaga Spanish Film Festival (FMCE), is an annual film festival held in Málaga, Spain. The festival was established to promote Spanish cinema and help disseminate information about Spanish films. Since 2017, ...

on 25 March 2014. Distributed by Festival Films, it was theatrically released in Spain on 10 October 2014.

Reception

Andrea G. Bermejo 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 ...

'' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that the film simply "dives into the shit of its characters" to bring some humor, gaining in originality with the romantic plot pertaining Megan Montaner, who performs a "credible" posh woman from Cantabria. Summing it up, Bermejo underscored the film to be a "tragicomedy with punch". Mirito Torreiro 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 ...

'' also rated it 3 out of 5 stars, considering that, despite seemingly having everything it takes to be a small masterpiece, the film "does not quite come together because of an ending that is not only predictable, but also very improvable".

References