Calle Málaga

If “Calle Málaga” is something like a late home game, it belongs entirely to the legendary actor Carmen Maura. Forty years after the early appearances for Pedro Almodóvar that made her one of the unmistakable faces of Spanish cinema, she is once again at the centre of a film that gives her the room she needs to shine.

Maura plays María Ángeles, the daughter of Spanish exiles in the Moroccan city of Tangier. She has spent her whole life there, and guards her small apartment like a jewellery box: geraniums on the balcony, old photographs on the walls, familiar cooking things in the kitchen. A place that is both a piece of home to her and a reflection of who she is. But her daughter wants to sell the apartment — and María faces a care home, or an exile in Spain she never chose.

The director Maryam Touzani knows exactly what she has in her lead. Every scene is carried by Carmen Maura. And Maura plays this woman, who has no intention of surrendering to her fate without a fight, with charm, irony and defiant wit. The result is less a classic social drama than a buoyant piece about old age. “Calle Málaga” had its world premiere in Venice’s new Spotlight section. Above all, though, the film proves that Carmen Maura, with her mixture of vulnerability and humour, still belongs among the very greatest actors in European cinema.

Shown at the 2025 edition of Around the World in 14 Films, Berlin.

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