Rabia

In this romantic thriller, the illegal immigrant José Maria hides away like a hunted animal in the deserted attic of the Spanish house where his beloved Rosa (a legal immigrant) works as a household help, after having accidentally killed his foreman while working as a building labourer. The stately house is labyrinthine and noisy and the jealous José Maria keeps a close watch on everything. The camera that peers down the corridors and creeps along the stairs portrays the mental state of the inhabitants, their relations and the suspicion that binds them. Because while José Maria fears he will be discovered and pursued, the lord and lady of the house quarrel about her drinking and his obstinacy and Rosa has to fend off their pushy son.
The film, which won the special jury prize at the Tokyo Festival, is based on a novel by the Argentine Sergio Bizzio, cowriter of XXY, winner of the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in 2007.