Life in the Abyss
La vida abismal
This film evokes Valencia illegal gaming back in the seventies. A young peasant -Ferran- plays cards not much to make a living but as a distraction of his daily routine. Ferran meets a larger-than-life character -el chino- who happens to play cards for a living. This other guy is depicted as a Toni Manero look alike but his charisma an arrogance lead the innocent Ferran to join him in his schemes to make money to end up betting all on the next card table. At some point the action moves to Madrid and Ferran steps down losing track of El chino who takes on more dangerous games making a living out of Russian Roulette until the round gets loaded. Based on real events this is no Hollywood epic but it captures the desperation of the characters very effectively.
Production Countries
Production Companies
Cast
Óscar Jaenada
as El Chino
José Sospedra
as Ferrán joven
Antonio Valero
as Ferrán adulto
Juli Mira
as Salvador
Pep Cortés
as Labrador
Nausicaa Bonnín
as Rosa
Pepa López
as La madre
Daniel Medrán
Álvaro Báguena
as Padre
Isabel Rocatti
as Hermana
Alfred Picó
Paco Sarro
Domènec de Guzmán
Cristina Plazas
as Prostituta
