Rita
Five-time winner of the fourth Carmen Awards, including Best New Director and Best Sound (Pablo Cervantes), as well as many nominations, Rita marks actress Paz Vega’s directorial debut.
Evocative village church bells introduce a setting of pure innocence and joyous childhood in Vega’s beautifully written Spanish drama Rita. Eva Diaz’s cinematography is exquisite: the film opens with stunning, dreamlike painterly visuals – bringing to mind a Velazquez tableau – with subtle close-ups in a child’s room that seem to invoke a collective consciousness of memories. The sumptuous vision summons a universal youthful delight in the world, independent of circumstance.
Seen from the perspective of seven-year-old Rita (Sofía Allepuz) in 1984 Seville, nostalgic, sweet vignettes of childhood portray a positive, kind world within the more violent environment of domestic abuse. They invoke fond recollections of early youth, that alternative universe of the imagination providing a bubble of protection from tumultuous adult realities.
The charming little Rita is always protective of her mother, Mari (Paz Vega) – shielding her from a man standing too close on a bus. She attempts to comfort and uplift her more fragile younger brother, Lolo (Alejandro Escamilla), who is maligned as too weak by their cantankerous, abusive father. When their grandmother is sick, the girl arranges to feed the pigeons for her – a tenderly portrayed scene. Cheerful and philosophical, little Rita seems to hold everything together, telling her distressed sibling stories, pretending they are cowboys and incredibly strong.
Parallel to the gentleness of childhood, the movie captures the insidious brutality of domestic violence. At first Mari’s husband, Jose (Roberto Álamo) appears emotionally and psychologically abusive. Though occasionally he seems normal and kind, especially with his children, he is always volatile. Characteristic of this affliction, the abuse tragically progresses.
The acting is outstanding, particularly the remarkable child performances. Vega’s directing exhibits a unique sensitivity, strong intuitive creative ability and emotional intelligence.
Paz Vega calls her film “a love letter to my childhood”, as the story is semi-autobiographical, invoking her own wistful memories of growing up in 1980s Spain. Affectingly real, intimate, charming and devastatingly heart-wrenching, Rita is refreshing and enchanting. Though depicting the horrors of domestic violence, the work is hopeful and a loving masterpiece of cinematic authenticity.
Catherine Sedgwick
Rita is released nationwide on 24th March 2025.
Watch the trailer for Rita here:
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