Solas

Thirtysomething Maria lives alone in a squalid quarter of a nameless Spanish city, having fled the rural home of her violent, alcoholic father and long-suffering mother. Embittered and depressed by her family life, her experiences with men, her menial job and her recent discovery that she is pregnant, she finds her only solace in alcohol. After her father is admitted to a nearby hospital she begrudgingly lets her mother stay with her while he recuperates. Although her daughter disdains her for silently tolerating years of abuse by her husband, Maria’s mother is nevertheless warm and loving, and does all she can to brighten her daughter’s life. She also befriends a neighbour in the same apartment block, a desperately lonely old man who quickly becomes attached to her and gives her the respect and affection she never experienced with her husband. Slowly and tentatively, mother and daughter begin to set aside their practiced antagonism and repair the lines of communication in their relationship. Buoyed by her newfound understanding of her mother and her own budding relationship with her elderly neighbour, Maria starts to gain new hope for her future. Highly successful in its home country, “Solas” is sensitively directed, never sliding into sentimentality, and is filled with standout performances from its small cast. Cast includes Ana Fernandez, Maria Galiana and Carlos Alvarez-Novoa. In Spanish with English subtitles.