Synopsis
Carmina or Blow Up (Carmina o revienta, 2012) is Paco León's Spanish tragicomedy, and you can watch it online on iFILM. The director's debut plays almost like a documentary: 58-year-old Carmina is played by his own mother, Carmina Barrios, essentially as herself.
Carmina runs a shop in Seville selling Iberian goods — cured ham, cheeses, olives. After a run of robberies and an insurer that won't pay out, she hatches a bold scheme to claw back the money her family needs. While the plan ticks along in her kitchen, she looks back over her life, her work and the small miracles that held the household together. The director's sister María León appears alongside her.
There's no gloss here: thick Andalusian slang, a real kitchen, eyes straight into the lens. The film was released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD and online — close to a manifesto in 2012 Spain. Carmina Barrios won the Goya for best new actress for the part. One for viewers who like honest, low-key cinema about ordinary people with backbone. Stream Carmina or Blow Up (2012) online on iFILM.
Starring
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