On the Fringe (2023)
On the Fringe
”A struggling mother fights to avoid eviction and save her family.”
Trailer
Why watch this film?
A Spanish social drama with thriller elements, starring Penelope Cruz ("Dolor y Gloria") and Luis Tosar ("Celda 211"), about the intertwined stories of three characters in difficult economic situations seeking to survive 24 crucial hours for their futures. "En los márgenes" could easily lend itself to exploiting its character's conditions in the most miserable way. However, director Juan Diego Botto and his co-writer Olga Rodríguez find the humanity in these circumstances and bring it to the forefront, presenting a powerful tale of the power of solidarity in tough times.
Filmelier
Our suggestions
Plot summary
A day in the life of Azucena, who is running out of time to keep herself and her family from being evicted; Rafael, a lawyer who sets out to reunite a mother with her daughter; and Teodora, a sick old woman who searches for her long-lost son before it is too late.
To share
Do you want to watch something different?
Watch full movies now!
Press play and be surprised!
Where to watch?
Drama
Underdog
In its effort to raise awareness about the precarious social reality of certain sectors of the population, Mexican cinema tends to fall into miserabilism (or so-called "poverty porn"), whether in documentaries or fiction. The quest of Mexican cinema for new creative and narrative horizons is ongoing, and in the case of Underdog (Correr para vivir), director and co-writer Gerardo Dorantes opts for what, in its conventions, is an action and crime thriller extrapolated to the context of the Rarámuri (or Tarahumara) indigenous people of northern Mexico, famous for their running tradition (and their extraordinary talent for it). The plot follows two brothers: Omero (Vladimir Rivera), who dreams of being a runner; and Capó (Manuel Cruz Vivas), who is more talented but also troubled. Both are dragged into a life of service to the drug trade when Capó, in an attempt to provide for his pregnant girlfriend, fails in a cocaine delivery. To be honest, it's a good attempt to steer Mexican cinema towards other directions that are not the typical exploitation of social dramas or anthropological documentaries. However, the film ends up falling into the same vices, representing Rarámuri culture from a superficial and idealized exoticism, creating entertainment from a real social context with little sensitivity.
Downtown Owl
'Downtown Owl' - Searching for a break from her cosmopolitan life in Milwaukee, Julia Rabia (Lily Rabe), arrives in the closeknit Reagan-era town of Owl, North Dakota for a one-semester high school teaching job. But when the small town turns out to be a wonderland of second-string poets, smoldering Marlboro Men, and a social hierarchy that echoes high school, Julia doesn't know if she's come to town to get away from home or to find it. Ed Harris, Vanessa Hudgens, Henry Golding, and Finn Wittrock also star in this Great Plains dark dramedy directed by Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater. Based on the novel by Chuck Klosterman.
Baby
After his release from a juvenile center, Wellington finds himself homeless in São Paulo. At a porn theater, he meets Ronaldo, who mentors him in street survival. Their bond evolves into a turbulent affair.
Cake
'Cake' takes us into the darkly funny world of Claire Bennett (Jennifer Aniston) who initiates a dubious relationship with a widower (Sam Worthington) while confronting fantastical hallucinations of his dead wife (Anna Kendrick). With her feisty housekeeper cum caretaker (Adriana Barraza) ever at her side, Claire searches for human connection and self-forgiveness in this tale of personal redemption.
