La espalda de Dios

The quiet life of Rosa (Isabel Ampudia), who works in a bar, changes when she meets Ivan (Alberto Jiménez), a charmer and adventurer. He makes sure that she puts aside her plans – to marry her boyfriend and start her own business – and plunges into an uncertain adventure with him. With the money Rosa has saved, they open their own bar. Then Rosa is confronted with Ivan’s many shortcomings: he gambles, deals, is unfaithful and borrows money from underworld figures. Nevertheless, she loves him – a love that has to lead to self-destruction.Pablo Llorca, director of widely praised films such as Venicias, Jardines colgantes and Todas hieren, based his script on the true story of a girlfriend, who succumbed to an all-embracing love for a man. Llorca allows the relationship to grow over a period of more than 10 years, as the tension is meticulously built up through three different episodes.La espaldo de Dios is characterised by a physical, sultry and sometimes sinister mood, and the feeling that fate is sure to strike. The beautiful leading role is played by Isabel Ampudia, who also performed a minor role in Alex Cox’ Three Businessmen (shown two years ago in Rotterdam) and in a supporting role we see the great Spanish actor Luis Miguel Cintra, a regular in the films of Manoel de Oliveira.