''Oliver's Universe'' () is a 2022

coming-of-age film In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or interna ...

directed by which stars Rubén Fulgencio as the title character alongside

Salva Reina Salvador "Salva" Reina (born 9 April 1978) is a Spanish actor and stand-up comedian, often referred to in the industry by the nickname 'Chuki'. He became known for performances in television series such as ''Allí abajo'' and ''Sabuesos'' or the f ...

, María León and

Pedro Casablanc Pedro Manuel Ortiz Domínguez (born 17 April 1963), best known by his stage name of Pedro Casablanc, is a Moroccan-born actor known for his many stage, film and television performances in Spain. Biography Pedro Manuel Ortiz Domínguez was bor ...

. It adapts the novel ''El universo de Óliver'' by Miguel Ángel González Carrasco.

Plot

Set in 1985, with the backdrop of the approach of Comet Halley to Earth, the plot tracks the mishaps of Óliver, an overly imaginative

tween Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is c ...

, who, having just moved together with his parents to the home of crazed grandfather Gabriel near

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

, seeks the latter's help in order to cope with his problems.

Cast

Production

An adaptation of the novel ''El universo de Óliver'' by Miguel Ángel González, the screenplay was penned by Miguel Ángel González, Alexis Morante and Raúl Santos. The film was produced by Pecado Films (José Alba) and La Claqueta PC (Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo) alongside Sinehan Capital AIE. It had the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

Canal Sur Canal Sur ('South Channel') is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA), the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this autononomous community by an Act of Parliament in its ...

and CreaSGR, funding from

ICO is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game based on a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally ...

, and support from Creative Europe's

MEDIA Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

Junta de Andalucía The Regional Government of Andalusia () is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Regional Government and the Government Council. The 2011 budget was 31.7 billion euros. It emp ...

and . It was shot in

Campo de Gibraltar Campo de Gibraltar () is one of the six ''comarcas'' (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalities of Algec ...

in 2021. Bunbury performed a theme for the film: "Esperando una señal", produced by

Rafa Sardina Rafael Sardina, known professionally as Rafa Sardina, is a basque recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer known for his work with Alejandro Sanz, Luis Miguel, Calle 13, D'Angelo, The Clare Fischer Big Band and Lady Gaga. Sardina ...

and otherwise also featuring

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur, CSS and The Pretty Reckless. Early caree ...

(piano),

Carmine Rojas Carmine Rojas (born February 14, 1953) is an American bass guitarist, musical director and composer. His musical styles include rock, R&B, funk, and jazz. Music career Early years, as sideman Born in Brooklyn, Rojas toured the world with David ...

(bass), Rafael Padilla (percussionist),

Victor Indrizzo Victor Indrizzo (born September 23, 1967) is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer. Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. He has toured, recorded and worked wit ...

(drums) and Gabi Martínez (guitar).

Release

The film was pre-screened on 7 May 2022 at the

' Teatro Municipal Florida. Distributed by

Filmax Filmax International is a Spanish motion picture production company and film distributor based in Barcelona, and one of Spain's largest integrated film and television groups. It produced the ''REC'' horror series, and owns the Nirvana Films and ...

, the film had a wide release in Spanish theatres on 13 May 2022.

Reception

Sergio F. Pinilla 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 with 4 out of 5 stars assessing that it blends the fantasy imagery of films from the 1980s with the family portrait of a society and era, bringing in a universe in "which children and adults,

gitanos The Romani in Spain, generally known by the Endonym and exonym, endonym ''Calé'', or the Endonym and exonym, exonym (), belong to the Romani people#Romani subgroups, Iberian Romani subgroup known as Calé, with smaller populations in Portugal ...

and payos, the unfortunate and the fortunate, live side by side and collide". Pablo Vázquez 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 out of 5 stars, considering that it allows a committed cast to shine while the overall product perhaps languishes compared to other works, highlighting "a gigantic Casablanc and a no less brilliant Reina" and the subplot pertaining the girl respectively as the best and worst things about the film.

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "10" align = "center" , 2023 , , rowspan = "9" , 2nd Carmen Awards , , Best Director , , Alexis Morante , , , , rowspan = "9" , , - , Best Actor , , Salva Reina , , , - , Best Adapted Screenplay , , Alexis Morante, Raúl Santos, Miguel Ángel González , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , María León , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Pedro Casablanc , , , - , Best New Actor , , Lorca Gutiérrez Prada , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Lourdes Fuentes , , , - , Best Sound , , Diana Sagrista, Vicente Villaescusa , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Juan Ventura, Amparo Martínez , , , - , 31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role , , Pedro Casablanc , , , ,

References

External links

''Oliver's Universe''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' {{authority control Films set in 1985 Films shot in the province of Cádiz Films set in Andalusia 2020s coming-of-age films Spanish coming-of-age drama films American coming-of-age drama films Romanian drama films Films based on Spanish novels Spanish fantasy films 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s Spanish films 2020s American films La Claqueta PC films Pecado Films films