LOS AMANTES PASAJEROS

Spain

Synopsis

A very mixed group of travellers are in a life-threatening situation on board a plane flying to Mexico City. Their defencelessness in the face of danger provokes a general catharsis that ends up becoming the best way to escape from the idea of death. This catharsis, developed in the tone of a riotous, moral comedy, fills the time with unforeseeable confessions that help them forget the anguish of the moment and face the greatest of dangers - that which they each carry within themselves. www.losamantespasajeros.com

Director's Statement

A plane takes off from Barajas in mid-afternoon. A couple of hours later, due to a technical failure, the plane must make an emergency landing, but air space is blocked. The country may be going through a serious economic crisis (a word never pronounced in the film) but all its airports are fully occupied by fun events, sporting fixtures or meetings involving extreme international security - there isn’t a single free runway. There are two kinds of passengers on this plane, those who are asleep and those who represent the dreams and nightmares of the sleepers. All of them have taken some kind of elixir, mixed with alcohol in business class, or with water in economy class. Both classes will unexpectedly land in a ghostly airport in the middle of the plain of La Mancha, to the amazement of the rabbits chasing around the runways. The evacuation will be carried out over a white cloud of foam with a sort of vaporous, metaphoric halo, the intermediate place between sky and earth, life and death, lies and truth, fear and strength of spirit. This is not a social comedy, although various levels of present day Spanish society are mentioned. There is a moral aspect that has nothing to do with social issues or moral values as such, but with the drama, that is, with the characters and the inner journey that they make from take-off to landing. This moral aspect does not include a judgment about the characters, they are all far from behaving in an exemplary way. I actually don’t think there is a kind of comedy talking about exemplary human beings.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar

Written by: Pedro Almodóvar

Produced by: Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García

Cinematography: José Luis Alcaine

Editing: José Salcedo

Production Design: Antxon Gomez

Costume Design: Tatiana Hernández

Original Score: Alberto Iglesias

Sound: Marc Orts

Cast: Lola Duenas, Cecilia Roth, Javier Cámara, Raúl Arévalo

Nominations and Awards

  • European Comedy 2013
  • Feature Film Selection 2013