Toro is a 2016 action thriller film directed by Kike Maíllo starring Mario Casas, Luis Tosar and José Sacristán.

Toro
Poster
Directed byKike Maíllo
Written by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
  • Arnau Valls Colomer
  • Marino Scandurra
  • Julio Vergne
Edited byElena Ruiz
Music byJoel Iriarte
Production
companies
  • Apache Films
  • Atresmedia Cine
  • Zircozine
  • Escándalo Films
  • Maestranza Films
  • Ran Entertainment
Distributed byUniversal Pictures International Spain
Release date
  • 22 April 2016 (2016-04-22) (Spain)
Countries
  • Spain
  • France
LanguageSpanish

Plot

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All of the action takes place within 48 hours. Reuniting after 5 years, two brothers, Toro and López (the former has just got out of jail while the latter was fleeing from law enforcement alongside his daughter after a theft), embark on a journey across Andalusia.[1][2]

Cast

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Production

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The screenplay was co-penned by Fernando Navarro and Rafael Cobos.[6] The film is an Apaches Entertainment (Apache Films), Atresmedia Cine, Zircozine, Escándalo Films, Maestranza Films and Ran Entertainment production, with the participation of Atresmedia, Movistar+, TVG and Canal Sur Televisión.[7] Production also featured the association of Media 2013-Back up Media and it had support from ICAA, ICO, Junta de Andalucía, AGADIC [gl] and Xunta de Galicia.[7] Shooting began by January 2015.[8] It was shot in between Galicia (including Vigo, Pontevedra, Cerceda and Ourense) and Andalusia (including Almería, Málaga, Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Fuengirola).[9][10][11]

Release

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Toro pre-screened in Vigo.[9] It screened on 22 April 2016 as the opening film of the 19th Málaga Spanish Film Festival.[12] Distributed by Universal Pictures International Spain,[7] the film received a wide release in Spanish theatres on the same day.

Reception

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Pere Vall of Fotogramas rated the film with 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting Casas' performance (bringing brutality and tenderness together) as the best thing about the film, while missing more screentime from García-Jonsson.[13]

Reviewing for El Periódico de Catalunya, Beatriz Martínez scored 3 out of 5 stars, finding satisfying that Toro breaks the self-imposed limits of political correctness in Spanish cinema, also considering that the film featured "one of the most conceptual visual designs of recent times", although she considered that eventually Kike Maíllo's filmmaking hids behind "impostured images lacking a true soul".[14]

Lluís Bonet Mojica of La Vanguardia wrote that the cast (particularly Sacristán) was the film's best asset.[15] He deemed however that the film does not quite come together, and that the non-stop action scenes fall into repetition and produce a certain weariness.[15]

Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that while thundering along nicely and a "central trio of fine performances and satisfyingly breakneck pace", the film's "insistence on pushing all the right cinematic buttons means that below the surface, it doesn't quite stand up".[16]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017 9th Gaudí Awards Best Production Supervision Toni Carrizosa Nominated [17][18]
Best Visual Fffects Rafa Galdó Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "'Toro': Nuevo tráiler con Mario Casas y Luis Tosar". Cinemanía. 31 March 2016 – via 20minutos.es.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Mario Casas y Luis Tosar protagonizan la cinta de acción "Toro"". Canal Sur. 11 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Making Of: Ingrid García Jonssson, Claudia Canal y Luichi Macías son las protagonistas de 'Toro'". Antena 3. 18 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Nya de la Rubia: "Mario Casas es noble y buenísimo como actor"". Diez Minutos. 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Videoblog de 'Toro' (IV): Las escenas de pelea de Mario Casas". Antena 3. 24 April 2015.
  6. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (22 April 2016). "Toro: atrapado por su pasado". Cineuropa.
  7. ^ a b c "'Toro' – estreno en cines 22 de abril". Audiovisual451. 19 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Kike Maillo inicia el rodaje de 'Toro' producida por Apaches, Atresmedia Cine, Zircozine, Escándalo, Maestranza y Ran Entertainment". Audiovisual451. 27 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b Mauleón, Amaia (15 April 2016). "'Toro' inicia su embestida en Galicia". La Opinión A Coruña.
  10. ^ Martínez, D (16 April 2020). "Cinco años se cumplen del rodaje de la película 'Toro' de Kike Maíllo en Almería". Diario de Almería.
  11. ^ Urmanol, Julen (22 April 2016). "'Toro', un 'thriller' protagonizado por Mario Casas y Luis Tosar". Deia.
  12. ^ Sotorrío, Regina (22 April 2016). "'Toro' inaugura el Festival de Málaga con el gancho de Mario Casas y un toque sureño". Diario Sur.
  13. ^ Vall, Pere (20 January 2016). "Toro". Fotogramas.
  14. ^ Martínez, Beatriz (21 April 2016). "'Toro', bravura con sangre mestiza". El Periódico de Catalunya.
  15. ^ a b Bonet Mojica, Lluís. "'Toro': El pasado nunca se deja atrás". La Vanguardia.
  16. ^ Holland, Jonathan (27 April 2016). "'Toro': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ "Tots els nominats als premis Gaudí 2017". Ara. 29 December 2016.
  18. ^ "» Noticias » Cultura 'Un monstruo viene a verme' de Juan Antonio Bayona triunfa en los Premios Gaudí". rtve.es. 30 January 2017.
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