17/03/2025 - The Spanish screenwriter is calling on the services of Luis Tosar and Jesús Carroza to topline his first film, on the heels of his fruitful collaboration with Alberto Rodríguez

Actor Luis Tosar, director Rafael Cobos and actor Jesús Carroza on the set of Golpes (© Julio Vergne)

Golpes (lit. “Blows”), which has just started shooting (and which will continue principal photography for seven weeks in Seville and Madrid), is the feature debut by Rafael Cobos, an Andalusian filmmaker who kicked off his directing career with the series The Left-handed Son (which won an award at Canneseries) and who is notching up considerable experience as a screenwriter, primarily linked to his friend Alberto Rodríguez (together, they have created hard-hitting films of the likes of Marshland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile] and Smoke & Mirrors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile], both of which he picked up Goya Awards for, and Prison 77 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], in addition to the series The Plague [+see also:
interview: Alberto Rodríguez and Rafae…
series profile] and one episode of the show Offworld [+see also:
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabe…
series profile]). What’s more, they both have Los Tigres (see the news) pending release and the series Anatomía de un instante currently in production (see the news).

On this occasion, Cobos is making his feature-length directorial debut with a story that he wrote himself together with Fernando Navarro (Verónica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile]). The cast is toplined by Luis Tosar (a Goya Award winner for Mondays in the Sun [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Take My Eyes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Cell 211 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daniel Monzón
film profile], and whom we saw recently in Undercover [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Jesús Carroza (a Goya winner for 7 Virgins [+see also:
trailer
film profile], recently glimpsed in Love and Revolution [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), and is rounded off by Teresa Garzón, Cristina Alcázar, Carlos Bernardino and Cristalino (Goya-nominated for his turn in Saturn Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isaki Lacuesta
film profile]).

According to the brains behind it, Golpes offers a new take on a famous cinematic sub-genre that reared its head in 1980s Spain. Indeed, Cobos himself states, “It’s all about committing to revitalising el cine quinqui [or juvenile-delinquent films], delving deeper into their very essence, albeit while striving to be different. While that brand of cinema is full-on, explicit and talks about things in an obvious and unflinching way, this movie is a subtle fable that attempts to depict a country in the midst of transition – a contradictory, disorientated country unable to settle the score with its past. It’s a thriller about blood ties and memory.”

It will tell the story of Migueli (played by Jesús Carroza), a criminal who gets out of prison in the unstable Spain of the early 1980s. He wishes to look to the future, but before that, he will have to heal the wounds of the past. To do so, he needs a lot of money – and fast. As soon as he gets to Seville, he rejoins his old gang, and they carry out a string of robberies on varied targets: bank branches, jewellery shops… and even the area’s top casino. But it won’t be a walk in the park for them: the police have entrusted the case to his own brother, Sabino (played by Luis Tosar), who knows only too well how his mind works. However, the lad will not be stopped and is prepared to go all the way.

Golpes is a production by Borja Pena and Emma Lustres for Vaca Films, in co-production with Grupo Tranquilo and France’s Playtime, with the involvement of Movistar Plus+, RTVE and Canal Sur. It has secured funding from the ICAA and the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Regional Government of Andalusia as well as the support of the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. A Contracorriente Films will take care of its Spanish distribution.

(Translated from Spanish)