It’s 8 in the morning one summer in the early 70s. Ion, an ETA activist, runs for his life through San Sebastian’s Old Town with the police hot on his heels. The city is coming to life, and people are going about their usual routine. As he runs, Ion looks back at the story of his life. His memories of school, where he was forced to renounce his identity, alternate with the look in his father’s eyes and the figure of Madeleine.
Domingo lives for gambling. He takes bets at rowing boat races, pelota courts and the squares where all sorts of competitions are held. But it’s also an obsession that pushes him to take risks, always in cahoots with his cowardly and cynical sidekick, Kornelio. The loneliness of his wife Marcelina reveals the other side of a tale where tragedy could strike at any time.
Manuel narrates his peaceful life with his brother Ramón until the arrival of a prostitute turns everything on its head. Esther’s presence sparks tension and conflict between the siblings until things come to a tragic end. The film explores family relations and repressed emotions in a rural environment.
Based on the novel of the same name by Arantxa Urretabizkaia, the film follows the life of a 30 year-old married woman and her son. The protagonist asks herself what drove her husband, Txema, to leave her alone with their child. Internal monologues serve to explore subjects such as motherhood, loneliness and everyday routine in the Basque society of the late 70s.
