After

The lives of Manuel (Tristán Ulloa) , Ana (Blanca Romero) and Julio (Alberto San Juan) , friends since adolescence, are an imposture . Despite being close to forty and having achieved everything that society says would make them happy, they desperately seek a solution to their loneliness and dissatisfaction. Their lives intersect one summer night in which they meet again after a year and together they embark on a journey into the heart of the night: sex, drugs, alcohol and excesses, a flight into a far adolescence as a way of avoiding reality. Last bar, Last call, Last night's fling !.

An offbeat and not very nice film about three friends searching for a way out of their overwhelming loneliness and dissatisfaction set off on a journey of excessive partying. Alberto Rodríguez and Rafael Cobos sign a script that demonstrates the effectiveness of the narration through three points of view, in an exercise of mastery in cinematographic writing, something that in the current panorama of national cinema, we miss a lot. Apart from its script, there excels the stark performances of the three protagonists, Tristán Ulloa , Blanca Romero , Alberto San Juan , and highlighting the latter as San Juan gives a meritorious acting , who changes registers impressively, going from his comic side to interpreting the consequences of consumption. The different points of view constitute three variants on the same night of lag , providing in each case the representation of the daily routine of the three characters, in which we discover their miseries, their fears and their anxieties. Rodríguez, who belongs, by age, to the same generation, seems to know what he is talking about ; these characters may have something of himself, or of his friends. And his vision of them exudes nostalgia about the loss of youth and the failure to adapt to maturity, as if it were a fierce struggle between the adult world and the youth world. Undoubtedly, ¨After¨ is an acceptable film thanks to the stunning actors and because of Alberto Rodríguez moves like a fish in water in that field and does not hesitate to take his actors to extreme and tense moments in the sexual field, if not to the explicit sex but filmed with quite good taste and not avoiding showing reality . Here stands out some catching songs , such as : ¨Rock Bottom Riser Written by Bill Callahan , Performed by Bill Callahan ; ¨Shadows¨ Written by David Covas , Performed by Abraham Boba ; ¨Beneath the Rose¨ Written and Performed by Micah P. Hinson and the classic ¨Frente a frente¨ Written by Manuel Alejandro, Performed by Jeanette.

Colorful and appropriate - though mostly at night- cinematography by Alex Catalan , a good cameraman who has photographed a lot of successful films such as ¨Even the rain¨ , ¨Grupo 7¨, ¨Habitacion En Roma¨ and ¨Voz Dormida¨. Atmospheric and adequate musical score by Julio de la Rosa who also composed ¨Group 7¨ and other Alberto Rodriguez films. The motion picture was was professionally directed by Goya Award-winning director Alberto Rodriguez , though being slow-moving and really sleazy. Alberto Rodríguez was born on May 11, 1971 in Seville , Andalucía, Spain . He is a good director and writer, known for Grupo 7 (2012), 7 Vírgenes (2005) and After (2009) . He previously realized ¨El Traje¨ and ¨Factor Pilgrim¨ . And the successful ¨Grupo 7¨ and with 7 Vírgenes (2005), Alberto Rodríguez portrayed youth marginality in a realistic and pessimistic story at the same time, dialing the cliché delinquent genre , but I think results to be an entertaining film with several interesting scenes . While in ¨7 Virgenes¨ deals with some rebel teens , in ¨After¨, the characters are 20 years older but the pessimism and despair are still present. It will be necessary to be attentive to the next works of Rodríguez, who with this film has set his professionality very high and consolidates a new form of Spanish cinema that flees from clichés . As Alberto Rodriguez getting his greatest hits in ¨El hombre de las mil caras¨ (2016) and especially ¨La Isla Minima¨ or ¨Marshland¨ and , of course, Model 77 (2022) that won several Goya Awards .

I cannot believe this film is only rating 5.1! I thought it was a gripping, gritty and realistic descent into the sort of nightlife madness which comes along once in a while when people are determined to push things to the edge of the envelope. Fragile mental states are exposed, as is the inevitable questioning of the worth of everyday reality when one enters those altered states and environments. What drives these characters to do what they do? Is it worth it? What does it cost them, etc? The cinematography and direction are both outstanding. As are the characters and the acting. In short, I loved it!