The Bar (film)
The Bar (Spanish: El bar) is a 2017 Spanish black comedy thriller film directed, produced and co-written by Álex de la Iglesia. Set in Madrid, it has the ensemble cast typical of this director. It was screened out of competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.[1][2]
| The Bar | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Álex de la Iglesia |
| Produced by | Carolina Bang Álex de la Iglesia Mercedes Gamero Mikel Lejarza Kiko Martínez |
| Written by | Álex de la Iglesia Jorge Guerricaechevarría |
| Starring | Mario Casas Blanca Suarez |
| Music by | Joan Valent |
| Cinematography | Ángel Amorós |
| Edited by | Domingo González |
Production companies | |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
Plot
In a cafe in Madrid; two random people are shot dead by an unknown sniper when they leave the bar. The streets are evacuated, and gradually, the rest of the people still alive in the bar come to realise someone in the group is the reason. It becomes clear that it is a government op and they are covering up the killings under the guise of a fire. Everyone inside the cafe turns against each other. Eventually, a man emerges from the bathroom in a critically diseased condition. He drops to the floor but as the group gather around to comfort him, he mutters, "Don't touch me!" before dying. It now becomes clear that the group are being quarantined due to the man's disease. Amparo, the shop owner acknowledges the man's last words before dying and keeps five people from the group at bay who made physical contact with the man, including Elena, Nacho, Trini, Sátur and Israel believing them to be infected. Two others who believe to have made no physical contact with the man including Andrés and Sergio join Amparo and together lock the five people down in the cellar.
Deep down in the cellar, the group hear gunshots coming upstairs from the bar and deduce the government have stormed in and shot Amparo, Andrés and Sergio dead. The government then burn the bar down to disinfect it. The group wait till the government is gone and head upstairs to find the interior of the bar burnt down and taped up from the outside. Eventually, the group deduce that the man has brought in what they conclude to be four doses of vaccine made for the man's disease that have supposedly infected the group. Israel finds the vaccines in the bathroom, but when the rest of the group urge Israel to share them, he reminds them that the four vaccines are not enough for the five of them, meaning someone in the group is in danger. Unwilling to take any chances, Israel deliberately takes out one of the doses and injects himself with it. Furious, Sátur engages in a physical fight with Israel. In the ensuing fight, the rest of the vaccines end up falling through a drainpipe in the cellar that leads down to the sewers. The whole group barely manage to squeeze through the small drainpipe to access the sewers.
Once down, the group are still left with the question on who is going be left out to be vaccinated. Trini kills herself to minimize the group's quantity with that of the vaccines. Meanwhile, a now demented Israel kills Satur out of spite and chases after Elena and Nacho through the sewers. The two find a ladder to escape from the sewers. As they start climbing it, Israel catches up and grabs hold of Nacho. Nacho sacrifices himself for Elena by dropping himself down with Israel, resulting in both being killed. Distraught, Elena injects herself with the vaccine before climbing out of the sewers and into the streets, where she sees the bar burnt down from the outside. Nevertheless, she walks away from the scene and into the crowd.
Cast
- Mario Casas as Nacho
- Blanca Suárez as Elena
- Alejandro Awada as Sergio
- Carmen Machi as Trini
- Terele Pávez as Amparo
- Joaquín Climent as Andrés
- Secun de la Rosa as Sátur
- Jaime Ordóñez as Israel
- Jordi Aguilar as Barrendero
- Diego Braguinsky as Oficinista
- Mamen García as Gitana
- Daniel Arribas as Tipo que tose
- Paco Sarro as Hombre 1
- Mari Giner as Señora del Abrigo
- Tony Lam as Chang
- Mariano Andres as Hombre 2
- Sue Flack as Jennifer
- Daniele Fileti as Frank
- Miguel Fajardo as Chico Rubio
- Helena Resano as Presentadora noticias
References
- "Berlinale 2017: Competition and Berlinale Special Are Complete". Berlinale. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- "Berlin Film Review: 'The Bar'". Variety. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
External links
- The Bar on IMDb
- The Bar at Rotten Tomatoes