The Beloved

The acclaimed film director Esteban Martínez (Javier Bardem) is a legend, both because of his films and because of his past, which is characterized by violence and excesses. For his new project, he offers his daughter Emilia a role, under the guise that he wants to help her with her stalled acting career. Living together on the film set will create a bond that they haven't had for years, but it will also reopen old wounds that have never healed. In ‘The beloved’, Javier Bardem is grandiose as a toxic filmmaker who wants to reconcile with his daughter (...) Sorogoyen casts an intense, raw look at strained family ties and the impact of a father with egomaniacal traits on the child he abandoned. Rejection and acceptance wind like a red thread through the story, without the filmmaker feeling the need to force a sentimental reconciliation. Life is more complex than that, and so is this excellent film. ★★★★ - in De Standaard