Calle Malaga (2025 BFI London Film Festival)
Maria Angeles (Carmen Maura) has lived in Tangier for her entire life. Even if her husband has now passed away and her daughter Clara (Marta Etura) is now working and living in Madrid with her own children, Maria Angeles has never even imagined leaving her home. After all, her entire life is in Tangier, from the friendly relationships with the local shop owners to her frequent visits to her best friend Josefa (María Alfonsa Rosso), a nun who has sworn a vow of silence. But when Clara unexpectedly comes to visit, Maria Angeles has to face an unwelcome surprise: her daughter, who has inherited the apartment she lives in, has decided to sell it. It seems that Maria Angeles has no other choice but to leave her home, or does she?
During the opening of Calle Malaga, the audience is immediately introduced to the titular setting of the movie. Calle Malaga is a road in Tangier, Morocco, where the protagonist, Maria Angeles, has lived for the past twenty years. As soon as the camera pans over the road, the viewers immediately pick up on the vibrant atmosphere created by the friendly local shop owners who all greet Maria Angeles like an old friend. Much like all of Tangier, it is also a melting pot of the different cultures that inhabit it. In the very opening scene of the film, we can hear different languages spoken – mainly Arabic and Spanish – and different ethnicities represented by the characters who live and work in Calle Malaga.
Overall, there is a strong sense of familiarity and community that extends throughout the film. Maria has a clear routine that centres around Calle Malaga, so much so that the road itself becomes another character in the movie. It is also a place that the audience eventually becomes familiar with by following the protagonist in her daily visits to the shops around her house. As Maria Angeles faces multiple struggles in her life – losing her apartment is a prime example of this – the community of Calle Malaga rallies behind her to show support and affection. Her family might be far away in Madrid, and at times insensitive to her situation, and most of her friends are now gone, but Maria still has a village of people who care about her in the neighbours and business owners who have seen her every day for the past 40 years.
While most stories on our screen tend to focus on younger protagonists, this film is not afraid of putting an older woman at the front and centre of its narrative. It is especially beautiful to see Maria come into her own and still find herself – or even a new version of herself – later in life. When everything comes crumbling down, she refused to give up and still fights for the things and the people that she loves. The film respects her wishes and desires for a life of her own in which she can make her own decisions, regardless of her age, economic situation, or employment status.
Ultimately, Calle Malaga is a beautiful and emotional movie. Anchored by a very strong performance, the film tells us a heartwarming story of love and loss where humour and happiness effortlessly alternate with more emotional and sombre moments. It also brings to life its undeclared protagonist, the road Calle Malaga that the film is named after, evoking a sense of home and familiarity in a place that most of the audience might not even know about, let alone have visited.
★★★★
Screened as part of the BFI London Film Festival / Carmen Maura, Marta Etura, Ahmed Boulane / Dir: Maryam Touzani / Films Boutique
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