On the Fringe

The scenario is Orcasitas, a working class neighborhood of Madrid. There was some substandard housing until the 1980s but, mostly due to residents' action, Orcasitas is now no different from many other neighborhoods in European cities, where most people live in decent, if modest dwellings and there are some green open spaces where children can play.

The subject is the eviction of people from their homes or apartments due to nonpayment of mortgage or rent and its consequences. One is, if there are children, parents may lose custody. There are three separate stories. In one, Azucena, a woman with a young son is unable to make ends meet with her menial job in a supermarket and receives scant help from her husband. In the second Theodora, in her sixties, is facing eviction because of providing collateral to her son's business ventures. In the third Badía, an Arab immigrant (presumably illegal) lives in an apartment with her daughter, who is left alone as the mother works. Badia faces not only eviction but deportation. The three stories are connected by lawyer Rafa, who spends most of his time trying to help people facing eviction with detriment of his family life. The movie exposes a pitiless, profit-oriented society where people like you and me can fall out of the "normal" category and end up jobless and homeless, in the margins of society. You get (some) help when you reach bottom, but little assistance to prevent your fall. In European countries you have impressive (on paper) social coverage, but it is steadily eroding, as Rafa's efforts to use it show.

I liked this movie. It dwells on a subject rarely treated in films. Juan Diego Botto has had a long and brilliant career as an actor in Argentina and Spain and this, his debut as feature film director, could not be more auspicious. If you only know Penélope Cruz from her glossy, sleek but typecast Hollywood work, you may not have realized how good an actress she really is; the scene where she awaits eviction at dawn is riveting. The eviction is enforced by ordinary police and (shamefully) by a truckload of cops in full riot gear (there may be protests from the neighbors). Cruz was also instrumental in the making of this movie; she is credited as one of the producers. Luis Tosar is an actor of many talents and does his usually excellent job here. The scene where Rafa's stepson finally realizes what Rafa does is deeply moving. Excellent cinematography, direction and script, the latter .by Botto and Olga Rodríguez. A not-to-miss movie.