Los Domingos (Sundays) Review (IFFR 2026)
Religious exploration has long been a subject filmmakers tackle head-on. Sometimes drawn to aggression, sometimes armed with a mysterious whim, films persist in peeling away yet another layer of faith’s opaque bark. They often do, but I find myself asking: with skepticism infiltrating everyday thought, the Church’s infamy impossible to ignore, and agnosticism increasingly spreading with a near-contagious ease, do we still need these invocations of the sacred?
Perhaps not. But occasionally, a film comes around and stirs things up again, be it as a parable for consistently unresolved relational struggles and interpersonal contrasts. And when they are honest, they exact a heavy toll.
Los Domingos (Sundays) does exactly this. Set in Bilbao, the film follows the teenager Ainara, who, amid the prospect of higher education and a tentative young fling, begins to feel the call of God. The daily life embraced by a local convent draws her in irrevocably, but her family sees things differently. Despite the strong historical presence of Catholicism—particularly in the Basque region—interest in God is declining, and Spain at large is becoming progressively secular (no news there, and thankfully the story does not persist too much there). The family members in Los Domingos embody different shades of this post-Christian Europe, and while the focus remains largely on intra-family dynamics and personal rifts, writer-director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa shows a lucid grasp of the impulses that carry individual belief systems from camaraderie to isolation.
Anchored in a well-rounded story whose characters possess texture and depth, Los Domingos approaches carefully the respect for otherness, attentive to how fragile this value can become within families. With conviction but without persuasive intent, the film unfolds a delicate yet gripping succession of benevolent confrontations, rendering a wide spectrum of emotions. Personal positions cannot always be traced back to clear origins, yet they rest on will and desire all the same. Sometimes inexplicable, they nonetheless respond to a need, simply put, the need for love. A need that manifests differently for everyone. This is the argument Los Domingos advances, tactfully, and one that ultimately brings tears even to those among us (myself included) who do not readily shed them.
In her sophomore film, Ruiz de Azúa retains her sensitive regard for the intricate currents that run within families, steering clear of a casual anger and overdramatization that has come to dominate much contemporary Spanish cinema. She demonstrated this same attentiveness in her television miniseries Querer. Working once again with trusted collaborators, Ruiz de Azúa shows that a genuine and distinctive voice can still survive the industry’s appetite for sentimental spectacle.
★★★★1/2
Los Domingos had its world premiere at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival (22 September 2025), and it was theatrically released in Spain on 24 October 2025 by BTeam Pictures. The film was screened at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam, in the Harbour Section. It was also included in the Best of IFFR screenings.
Los Domingos (Sundays), 115’ / Director & Screenplay: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa / Cinematography: Bet Rourich / Editing: Andrés Gil / Principal cast: Blanca Soroa, Patricia López Arnaiz, Miguel Garcés, Juan Minujín, Mabel Rivera, Nagore Aranburu / Production design: Zaloa Ziluaga Amigó / Spain, France
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