31/08/2020 - David Matamoros and Ángeles Hernández make their directorial debut with this drama about isolation, unpaid debts and failed lives

Isaac [+see also:
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Based on a script written by the directors and Antonio Hernández Centeno (on whose play, El día que nació Isaac, the film is based), the film employs two different timelines to depict clashing characters who are both full of tricks. The film tells the story of childhood friends: Nacho (played by Pepe Ocio, who played another questionable character in Like Foam [+see also:
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After years of distance and silence, they meet in a café and seemingly regain those distant ties of trust, affection and complicity. Denis, who needs money for a business venture, doesn’t hesitate in asking Nacho for a loan. From there begins a game of mutual dependencies in which the two men’s partners – Marta (María Ribera, as disconcerting and magnificent as in Distances [+see also:
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With Isaac, the directors have created a sophisticated film with an elegant mise-en-scène and moving soundtrack. The film delves into deep wounds, unsatisfied desires and dark lives where lies run freely. The longing for a naïve, free and honest youth – eventually hindered by betrayal and tragedy – serves as a counterpoint in the plot when it is confronted with the harsh reality of the protagonists’ empty adult lives. This produces a deep sense of melancholy that runs through this risky yet sensitive debut.

Isaac is a Zentropa International Spain and Doce Entertainment production. International sales are handled by British agency Alief LLC.

(Translated from Spanish by Jasmine Haniff)