On the Fringe (film)

2022 film

On the Fringe

Theatrical release poster

Spanish| En los márgenes
Directed by| Juan Diego Botto
Written by|

* Juan Diego Botto
* Olga Rodríguez

Produced by|

* Penélope Cruz
* Álvaro Longoria

Starring|

* Penélope Cruz
* Luis Tosar
* Adelfa Calvo
* Christian Checa
* Juan Diego Botto
* Aixa Villagrán
* Font García
* Mª Isabel Díaz Lago
* Sergio Villanueva
* Nur Levi

Cinematography| Arnau Valls Colomer
Edited by| Mapa Pastor
Music by| Eduardo Cruz

Production
companies

* Morena Films
* On The Fringe AIE
* Panache Productions

Distributed by| Vértice 360

Release dates

* 6 September 2022 (2022-09-06) (Venice)
* 7 October 2022 (2022-10-07) (Spain)

Countries|

* Spain
* Belgium

Languages|

* Spanish
* Arabic

On the Fringe (Spanish: En los márgenes) is a 2022 Spanish-Belgian thriller and social drama[1] film directed by Juan Diego Botto from a screenplay by Botto and Olga Rodríguez. It stars Penélope Cruz, Luis Tosar, Adelfa Calvo, and Christian Checa.

## Plot

[edit]

A homage to the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca,[2][3] the plot revolves around the life of Rafa, a lawyer-activist set on helping people facing home eviction and who put his commitment to lost causes before his family, formed by wife Helena and stepson Raúl. Over the course of 24 dramatic hours, Rafa's story intertwines with those of Azucena (a retail cashier living with Manuel about to lose her home), and Teodora (an old woman who has lost her home in the wake of providing monetary guarantee to her son).

## Cast

[edit]

* Penélope Cruz as Azucena[4]
* Luis Tosar as Rafa[4]
* Juan Diego Botto as Manuel[4]
* Aixa Villagrán as Helena[5]
* Adelfa Calvo as Teodora[4]
* Nur Levi [es][6]
* Christian Checa as Raúl[5]
* Font García as Germán[5]
* María Isabel Díaz Lago[7]
* Sergio Villanueva[7]
* Javier Perdiguero[8]
* Fabrice Boutique[8]
* Irene Bueno Royo[8]

## Production

[edit]

On the Fringe is Juan Diego Botto's debut as a feature film director.[6] The screenplay was penned by Botto himself together with Olga Rodríguez.[6] In addition to starring in the film Penélope Cruz also took over production duties alongside Morena Films's Álvaro Longoria.[6] The film was produced by Morena Films alongside On The Fringe AIE and Panache Productions / La Compagnie Cinematographique with the participation of Amazon Prime Video and RTVE, funding from Eurimages,[9] and support from Ayuntamiento de Madrid.[10] Shooting locations included Madrid and Alcorcón.[11][12] It features dialogue in Spanish and Arabic.[13]

## Release

[edit]

The film was selected for screening at the 79th Venice International Film Festival's Horizons section.[14] It also screened at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival.[15] Distributed by Vértice Cine, it was slated for a 30 September 2022 theatrical release in Spain,[11][9] then rescheduled to 7 October 2022.[16] It will later stream on Amazon Prime Video.[10]

## Reception

[edit]

Actor Christian Checa collecting the Audience Award won by On the Fringe at Festival CiBRA (November 2022)

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.70/10.[17]

Wendy Ide of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be "pacey, propulsive stuff" in which the helmer "combines a social conscience with a thriller's sense of mounting pressure".[4]

Mirito Torreiro of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting the honesty of the proposal as the best thing about the film, otherwise praising the "impressive acting works" that Botto obtained from Tosar and Cruz, which result into something "dazzling and touching".[18]

Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas rated the "well-documented, painfully realistic and very humane film" with 70 points ("good") singling out Calvo's character and performance as the best thing about the film, while citing some "overly forced characterizations and unsubtle messages" as negative elements.[19]

Toni Vall of Cinemanía rated Botto's "very interesting" debut film 3½ stars, declaring himself to feel most interested by the paradoxical theme of the depiction of that kind of people going out of their way to help strangers while at the same time being a disaster with those closest to them, rather than by the depiction of the wider horrible reality about house evictions.[20]

## Accolades

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category | Nominee(s)  | Result | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2022 | 28th Forqué Awards | Best Film Actor | Luis Tosar | Nominated | [21][22]
Cinema and Education in Values | Nominated
2023 | 10th Feroz Awards | Best Actor in a Film | Luis Tosar | Nominated | [23]
Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Adelfa Calvo | Nominated
78th CEC Medals | Best New Director | Juan Diego Botto | Nominated | [24][25]
Best New Actor | Christian Checa | Nominated
37th Goya Awards | Best New Director | Juan Diego Botto | Nominated | [26]
Best Actor | Luis Tosar | Nominated
Best Supporting Actress | Penélope Cruz | Nominated
Best New Actor | Christian Checa | Nominated
Best Original Song | "En los márgenes" by Eduardo Cruz and María Rozalén | Nominated
31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Minor Role | Adelfa Calvo | Won | [27]
Best New Actor | Christian Checa | Nominated

## See also

[edit]

* List of Spanish films of 2022

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Meza, Ed (29 September 2022). "Penélope Cruz Encouraged Juan Diego Botto to Direct Debut Feature 'On the Fringe,' a Devastating Commentary on Spain's Eviction Crisis". Variety.
2. ^ Herrera, Sonia (7 October 2022). "'En los márgenes': la periferia es tu vecina". La Marea.
3. ^ Iglesias, Pablo (8 October 2022). "La Ley de Vivienda, el PSOE y La Sexta". Ara.
4. ^ a b c d e Ide, Wendy (6 September 2022). "'On The Fringe': Venice Review". ScreenDaily.
5. ^ a b c Gottlieb, Susanne (6 September 2022). "Review: On the Fringe". Cineuropa.
6. ^ a b c d Silvestre, Juan (28 October 2021). "Penélope Cruz y Luis Tosar arrancan el rodaje de la ópera prima de Juan Diego Botto". Fotogramas.
7. ^ a b "On the Fringe (En los márgenes)". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
8. ^ a b c Chico, Fran (29 August 2022). "Póster en exclusiva de 'En los márgenes', la ópera prima de Juan Diego Botto". Fotogramas.
9. ^ a b "El fondo Eurimages apoyó diez coproducciones con participación española en 2021". Audiovisual451. 27 December 2021.
10. ^ a b Boquerini (8 November 2021). "Juan Diego Botto dirige a Penélope Cruz en su debut como director". El Correo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
11. ^ a b "'En los márgenes', dirigida por Juan Diego Botto y con Penélope Cruz y Luis Tosar, se estrena el 30 de septiembre". Cine con Ñ. 2 December 2021.
12. ^ Jiménez, Álex (22 November 2021). "Penélope Cruz, Luis Tosar y Juan Diego Botto graban una película en Alcorcón". Alcorcón Hoy.
13. ^ "En los márgenes / On the Fringe". San Sebastián International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
14. ^ "Juan Diego Botto presentará en la sección 'Horizontes' de Venecia 'En los márgenes'". Diario de Sevilla. 26 July 2022.
15. ^ Fernández, Harri X. (12 August 2022). "El debut de Juan Diego Botto como cineasta, nueva perla del Zinemaldia". Noticias de Gipuzkoa.
16. ^ "'En los márgenes', con Penélope Cruz y Luis Tosar, llegará a los cines el 7 de octubre". Mundo Deportivo. 24 August 2022 - via msn.com.
17. ^ "On the Fringe". RottenTomatoes. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
18. ^ Torreiro, Mirito (6 October 2022). "Crítica de 'En los márgenes', la ópera prima de Juan Diego Botto". Fotogramas.
19. ^ Hernández Luján, Raquel (7 October 2022). "Crítica de En los márgenes, notable debut de Juan Diego Botto como director de largometrajes". HobbyConsolas.
20. ^ Vall, Toni (5 October 2022). "Crítica de 'En los márgenes'". Cinemanía - via 20minutos.es.
21. ^ "Alcarràs', 'Cinco lobitos', 'As bestas' y 'Modelo 77', finalistas en los Premios Forqué". rtve.es. 7 November 2022.
22. ^ "'As bestas' triunfa en los Forqué y pone al rojo vivo la lucha por los Goya". rtve.es. 17 December 2022.
23. ^ "Premios Feroz 2023 | Palmarés completo: empatan 'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos' en cine y 'La ruta' y 'No me gusta conducir' en series". Cinemanía. 29 January 2023 - via 20minutos.es.
24. ^ "'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las más nominadas a las Medallas CEC". Cine con Ñ. 15 December 2022.
25. ^ Sánchez Sequera, Marcos (7 February 2023). "'As bestas' brilla en los Premios del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos (CEC)". Audiovisual451.
26. ^ "Estos son los ganadores de los Premios Goya 2023: lista completa". El Periódico de Catalunya. 12 February 2023.
27. ^ Aller, María (14 March 2023). "Premios Unión de Actores 2023: 'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las películas más premiadas". Fotogramas.

## External links

[edit]

* On the Fringe at IMDb

*[Ref.]: Reference