The Beasts (2022 film)

The plot is loosely inspired by real events that took place in Santoalla, a semi-abandoned hamlet of Petín, from 2010 to 2014.[3] Set in the Galician countryside, it follows a French couple (Antoine and Olga Denis) settled in a small village seeking to connect with nature, growing and selling their own eco-friendly crops and rehabilitating abandoned properties so they can be reinhabited. However their presence arouses hostility from a couple of neighbors,[4][5] the Anta brothers Xan (an inflexible man used to interacting under a might makes right worldview) and Loren (with reduced mental capacity in the wake of an accident he suffered when he was young),[6] pitted against the French at the opposing side of a dispute regarding the sale of land to a wind energy company. Antoine and Olga are opposed to the deal and block it, whilst Xan, along with most of the village, wants the money in order to leave the countryside and have a chance for a better life for him and his family.

Antoine reports the hostile behaviour of the Anta brothers, such as trespassing on his farm and urinating on his property, to the local Guardia Civil, but they do not take his concerns seriously, insisting they should solve their dispute through dialogue. In an attempt to record evidence of their behaviour, Antoine begins surreptitiously filming the brothers, but they quickly notice and are enraged further. Antoine discovers two batteries in the farm's well, poisoning their tomato harvest with lead. He angrily confronts the brothers and trespasses in their residence. The law enforcement agents have no evidence to charge the brothers with sabotaging the farm and consider both parties responsible for antagonising each other. Driving along a country road at night, Antoine and Olga find the path blocked by the brothers' vehicle, who approach the couple with a shotgun and repeatedly bang on the window. Olga confesses she is fearful for their safety, believing they would have murdered Antoine if she was not present.

The other remaining villager opposed to the wind farm development dies, with his son in favour of accepting the deal and leaving Antoine and Olga the only remaining holdouts. Antoine meets the brothers in the local pub and explains that, if another vote found him to be the only resident opposed to the deal, he would accept the majority opinion and leave the village. However, due to the sabotage of their harvest, they need to remain for at least a year to recoup their losses, by which time Xan believes the developers will take their interest elsewhere. Walking his dog in a remote forest, Antoine is followed and approached by the brothers. Anticipating a violent confrontation, he sets his camera to record and hides it in a clearing. A struggle ensues, and Antoine is smothered to death by the brothers.

A year later, Antoine's disappearance remains unsolved. Olga continues to run the farm alone, and spends her free time scouring the countryside for Antoine's body or evidence of his murder. Antoine and Olga's daughter Marie arrives to visit from France. She is disturbed that Olga lives so near to her father's murderers, insisting that she needs to accept Antoine's death and leave, but Olga refuses. Olga eventually discovers the battered camera and gives the memory card to the Guardia Civil, but they tell her it is irretrievably corrupted. However, they agree to reopen the search around the site of the camera. Olga visits the Xan brothers and insists on speaking to their elderly mother. She tells the mother that her sons will soon be sent to prison, and then the two women will both be alone in the village. Shortly after, Antoine's body is discovered, and as Olga is driven to identify the body she passes the Xan brother's mother walking alone in the road.

The film was produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures, Caballo Films, Cronos Entertainment and Le Pacte, with the participation of RTVE, Movistar+, Canal+ and Cine+, support from Eurimages, and funding from ICAA.[11] The screenplay was penned by Sorogoyen's long-time collaborator Isabel Peña and Sorogoyen himself.[5] The production crew also features other Sorogoyen's recurring collaborators (such as Olivier Arson as composer, Alex de Pablo as director of cinematography and Alberto del Campo as film editor).[11]

Sorogoyen reported that he would shoot the film "as a western".[4] Filming began on 16 September 2021 and wrapped on 13 December 2021.[11][12] Shooting locations included El Bierzo and inland Galicia.[13]

The Beasts debuted at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2022,[14] screened out of competition in the Cannes Première section.[15][16] Distributed by Le Pacte,[17] the film opened in French theatres on 20 July 2022.[18][19] It also screened at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2022, as part of the 'Pearls' film slate.[20][21] It was also selected in the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival's main slate (for its Asian premiere).[22] Distributed by A Contracorriente, it was theatrically released in Spain on 11 November 2022.[23][24] By the end of the year, it had grossed €3.6 million at the Spanish box office, the 6th highest-grossing Spanish film overall.[25]

Latido Films licensed US rights on the film to Greenwich Entertainment.[26] UK/Ireland distributor Curzon also nabbed rights to the film.[27]

• List of Spanish films of 2022
• List of French films of 2022
• Santoalla

• The Beasts at IMDb