30/01/2025 - The fast-paced Daniel Calparsoro applies the handbrake in his new film, compelled to do so by a snowstorm that leaves his characters isolated, becoming heroes through their actions

Daniel Calparsoro is passionate about speed, action and putting his characters in a tight spot. We need only remember his latest films: El correo, where the hyper-charged flashy cars take up as many frames as the actors, and All the Names of God [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], where poor Luis Tosar had to keep walking because, if he stopped, he risked the explosive vest attached to his chest blowing up not only his digestive system, but the very centre of Madrid. In his new feature film, cars and people also appear in a major predicament. However, the vehicles are now stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, similar to the one that Spain experienced a few years ago, called Filomena. In this case, it takes on a different name, which gives the feature film its title: Mikaela [+see also:
trailer
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In the midst of these extreme circumstances, with the roads closed and the cars immobilised, the plot of a film unfolds, starring an ordinary man so expertly portrayed by actor Antonio Resines. The winner of the Goya for La buena estrella returns to the action genre after Box 507 and Todo por la pasta. Calparsoro now brings to life a policeman who is far from exemplary, both as a professional and as a family man. However, his presence on an ice-bound motorway, where a bank van is being robbed, forces him to reconsider his usual lazy, selfish, and unethical attitude.

Calparsoro attempts to weave together the multiple storylines in his new film, a bouquet of more or less intertwined plots (reminiscent of 1970s disaster films, with The Towering Inferno and Earthquake as examples) blending various genres, from family drama to thriller, with a few sparks of romantic comedy. The film works as an entertaining and escapist experience, but at times, one misses the intensity, risk, and adrenaline that the director—who made his debut with Salto al vacío—typically injects into his work.

What Mikaela does allow is for several of its actors to showcase their emotional talents: Roger Casamajor and Adriana Torrebejano electrify with a crush brimming with sexual chemistry, while Javier Albalá and Patricia Vico navigate a marital crisis. And not forgetting the empathy between Resines' flawed policeman and the novice civil guard played by Natalia Azahara, who create buddy movie moments. All these stories end up overshadowing the film's central conflict: a robbery that is watered down in the hands of a filmmaker known for making some of the most exciting films in Spanish cinema in recent decades.

Mikaela is produced by La Terraza Films, Atlantia, Ikiru Films, Atresmedia Cine and AP6 la película AIE.

(Translated from Spanish)