Mantícora

Nacho Sánchez plays disturbing Julián, a creature modeler for videogames who holds dark secrets . One day , he saves the life of his neighbor, a ten-year-old boy trapped by fire. When he hears the boy's screams, Julian doesn't think twice , he breaks down the door of the house and rescues the boy, whom he calms down until his mother returns home. That same night he went to the emergency hospital with serious breathing problems, but the cause was not the smoke but an intense anxiety attack.

The very personal Madrid director Carlos Vermut distributes an unsettling play about love and the monsters that surround us starring an excellent Nacho Sánchez , he plays a video game designer who suffers a trauma following a fire manifesting in a frightening obsession , his performance earned him the Feroz award for best actor , being well accompanied by the newcomer Zoe Stein who delivers a stunning acting , as well . It is a razor-sharp flick that is developed step by step , resulting in a surprising final of fateful consequences . This is an interesting film , it is both an asset and a weakness of Spanish director Carlos Vermut's sophomore feature , an elaborately contrived , imagination-dependent dark drama with a peculiar romance included . Rare flick , its has a few gaps and is slow-moving , but anyway, it is compensated with the great performances carried out by the two fine protagonists . Vermut assembles another , far more sinister narrative deepness , inserting it into the collective subconscious and stunning to the tiring audience and the fact is that the duration of the film is excessive, almost two hours, where practically nothing happens until it reaches a surprising and twisted ending .

The motion picture was deliberate and slowly directed Carlos Vermut . Vermut comes to cinema from a background in comic-book illustration, and though he brings a strong visual sense to his big screen work , including his low-budget debut, "Diamond Flash" , though he previously made some successful Shorts . His biggest hit was ¨Magical Girl¨(2011) and also wrote ¨La abuela or The Grandmother¨ (2021) directed by Paco Plaza . This Manticora (2022) got various prizes and nominations , such as : Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 2023 Nominee CEC Award Best Director Carlos Vermut Best Actor Nacho Sánchez , Best New Actress Zoe Stein . Cleveland International Film Festival 2023 Nominee International Narrative Competition Best Feature Film Carlos Vermut . Feroz Awards, ES 2023 Winner Feroz Award Best Poster Carlos Vermut , Best Actor in a Leading Role Nacho Sánchez Nominee Feroz Award Best Trailer Miguel A. Trudu . Fotogramas de Plata 2023 Nominee Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actor Nacho Sánchez . Gaudí Awards 2023 Nominee Gaudí Award Best Non-Catalan Language Film Carlos Vermut , Alex Lafuente , Pedro Hernández Santos (producer) , Best Cinematography Alana Mejía González , Best Costume Design Vinyet Escobar , Best New Performer Zoe Stein. Goya Awards 2023 Nominee Goya Best Director , Best Lead Actor Nacho Sánchez , Best New Actress Zoe Stein , Best Original Screenplay Carlos Vermut . José María Forqué Awards 2022 Nominee José María Forqué Award Best Actor Nacho Sánchez . Tokyo International Film Festival 2022 Nominee Tokyo Grand Prix Best Film Carlos Vermut. Rating : 5/10.

"A video game designer's trauma following a fire manifests in a frightening obsession."

9/10

Wow. I know this will be an unpopular opinion but I think this is the best picture by Carlos Vermut. Obviously you have to like slow burns - but I actually do and this is a hell of a slow burn, beautifully acted and directed!

It explores complex themes, offering the audience an unsettling yet stimulating experience.

It takes a while to get going, but if you stick with it you will be rewarded with an unnerving, disturbing and ultimately brave third act. I promise you won't forget it anytime soon.

This is an uneasy watch, but it's definitely worth it.

Julian is a graphic artist and creature modeler for a video game producer. He has trouble dealing with his emotions and harbors dark and secret desires that threaten to take control of his life and turn him into a monster. Frequent panic attacks and overwhelming cravings debilitate Julian until he meets a woman, Diana, who helps soothe his frayed nerves. Still, she is not enough to keep his deviant cravings in check. He must look into himself to find a way through his predicament.

As with Carlos Vermut's Magical Girl, which is one of my favorite films, Manticore delves into human obsession and desire. Vermut is stylish, deep, precise, and intriguing. He was present at the world premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival where he said that it is important to have conversations about our desires and secrets, otherwise they risk getting out of control. Manticore underscores this message.

It's a topic no-one wants to talk or know about but alerts how much harm would have been avoided if the issue is treated, because is awful but it's real. The movie is very dark but real and the protagonists are sweet and that is a impactful contrast with the issue. The rhythm is slow paced, reflective and dry. The characters could be either familiar or completely strangers, the protagonist feels himself, and could be seen as a monster, like his own creations. It's a huge act of bravery to show this topic in this way, in the times of neo-conservadurism rising in the world. Carlos Vermut might me ahead of his time.