She understands now that the real beast was never the wind. It was the love of a place so fierce that it consumes everything else. It was the refusal to bend. It was the silence of a village that saw everything and chose the hill over the man.
The film's chilling authenticity comes from its basis in a real event: the 2010 disappearance and murder of Martin Verfondern, a Dutch man living in the remote Galician village of Santoalla. Verfondern, an idealistic electrician, had moved from Amsterdam with his wife, Margo Pool, hoping to live off the land and restore a ruined village home. He and his wife began rebuilding the semi-abandoned village, a dream of rural life that soon soured due to a dispute with a local family.
The film is set in a rural village in the interior of Galicia, a landscape of lush greenery, heavy rain, and profound isolation. The story follows Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs), a French couple who move to Spain to live a quiet, eco-friendly life, renovating an old farmhouse and growing organic vegetables. as bestas rodrigo sorogoyen
Released in 2022, As Bestas (international title: The Beasts ) is a Spanish-French co-written and directed by , one of the most compelling voices in contemporary European cinema. Following his Goya-winning political thriller El Reino (2018), Sorogoyen shifts gears from urban power corridors to the rugged, mist-shrouded mountains of Galicia. The result is a slow-burn, devastatingly tense drama that explores xenophobia, land disputes, ecological greed, and the thin veneer of civilization. The film swept the Goya Awards, winning nine awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Cinematographer Alejandro de Pablo utilizes a "dirt-under-the-fingernails" aesthetic, where the vast autumnal woods and gloomy interiors feel equally trapping. She understands now that the real beast was never the wind
The film's opening imagery serves as a powerful metaphor for the entire narrative. It features a slow-motion, visceral sequence of rapa das bestas —the traditional Galician festival where wild horses are wrestled to the ground by bare-handed locals ( aloitadores ) to trim their manes and brand them. This striking visual encapsulates the film’s central theme: the brutal, physical struggle to dominate, break, and control another living being. Masterful Performances
His chilling performance as the primary antagonist earned him widespread acclaim and a Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor. 5. Critical Reception It was the silence of a village that
The local village tavern serves as the film's coliseum. In these scenes, Sorogoyen utilizes deep staging and framing to isolate Antoine. Xan, played with terrifying, mercurial brilliance by Luis Zahera, weaponizes passive-aggressive banter. He weaponizes language, constantly mocking Antoine's French heritage and calling him "The Frenchman" ( Frenchy ). The dialogue functions as psychological warfare, gradually stripping away Antoine's sense of safety. The Sabotage of the Land
: The film is a brutal deconstruction of the romanticized dream of escaping the city for a simple life in the countryside. For Antoine and Olga, Galicia is a sanctuary. For Xan and Lorenzo, it's a harsh existence, a place of dwindling opportunity. The conflict is a clash between an idealized, "tourist" vision of rural life and the gritty, complicated reality of the locals who struggle there.