''Fill Me with Life'' () is a 2000 Spanish drama film directed by Josecho San Mateo 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

Pilar López de Ayala Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film ''Mad Love''. Life and career Early life Pilar López de Ayala Arroy ...

alongside Juan Díaz. It is based on the novel ''Báilame el agua'' by Daniel Valdés.

Plot

Set 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 ...

, the plot tracks the downward spiral of the couple formed by María and David into drug use,

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

, and

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

Cast

Production

Based on the novel by Daniel Valdés, the screenplay was written with the collaboration from Ricardo González Iglesias and Mónica Pérez Capilla. The film was produced by Plot Films alongside Els Quatre Gats and Cre Acción Films.

Release

Selected for the official competition slate of the 45th

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci), the film was presented in October 2000. Distributed by Lauren Film, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 3 November 2000.

Reception

Ángel Fernández-Santos Ángel Fernández-Santos (1934–2004) was a Spanish film critic and screenwriter. Born in Los Cerralbos, province of Toledo, in 1934, he was the younger brother of Marxist philosopher . He studied for a brief spell at the in the early 1960s. As ...

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 ...

'' deemed the film to be a "lively and undoubtedly risky fiction", "but stylistically it does not live up to that risk and ambition, and it is stammering and imprecise" vis-à-vis the depiction of the "hellish dumps where the human plunderings of drug and juvenile destitution rot in Madrid".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 2001 , , 45th

Sant Jordi Awards The Sant Jordi Awards (; ) are film prizes awarded annually by the Catalan branch of the Spanish public radio network Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Ràdio 4. The awards were established in 1957. Awards are made in the following categories: ...

, , Best Actress , , Pilar López de Ayala , , , , align = "center" ,

References

{{authority control Films based on Spanish novels Films about substance abuse Films about prostitution in Spain Films set in Madrid 2000s Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish drama films 2000 drama films 2000 films Films about drug use in Spain