Utopia (2003 film)

Utopia
Spanish theatrical release poster
SpanishUtopía
Directed byMaría Ripoll
Screenplay by
  • Juan Vicente Pozuelo
  • Curro Royo
Produced byFrancisco Ramos
Starring
CinematographyDavid Carretero
Edited byNacho Ruiz Capillas
Music byPatrick Goraguer
Production
companies
  • Alquimia Cinema
  • Fidélité Productions
Distributed byHispano Foxfilm (es)
Release date
  • 21 March 2003 (2003-03-21) (Spain)
Countries
  • Spain
  • France
Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
Budget€5 million

Utopia (Spanish: Utopía) is a 2003 Spanish-French fantasy thriller film film directed by María Ripoll from a screenplay by Juan Vicente Pozuelo and Curro Royo which stars Leonardo Sbaraglia, Najwa Nimri, and Tchéky Karyo.

Plot

[edit]

Upon introduction from Jorge, a development cooperator turned guerrilla fighter (Angela), a clairvoyant (Adrián) and a blind former cop specialised in rescuing people from destructive cults (Hervé) come across each other through Utopía, a mysterious cult based in Madrid run by Samuel.[1][2]

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film is a Spanish-French co-production by Alquimia Cinema and Fidélité Productions.[5] Shooting began in Madrid on 17 June 2002.[5] Shooting locations also included Salamanca.[6] It was primarily shot in Spanish, with some French dialogue.[2] It boasted a substantial budget of €5 million.[7][5]

Release

[edit]

TF1 International scooped worldwide sales rights outside France and Spain.[5] Distributed by Hispano FoxFilm,[2] Utopia was released theatrically in Spain on 21 March 2003.

Reception

[edit]

Jonathan Holland of Variety wrote that "sci-fi, noir and romance are tossed into the genre blender with uneven results".[2]

Nuria Vidal of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting a "splendid" Emma Vilarasau as the film's best.[4]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Finaliza el rodaje de "Utopía" con Najwa Nimri y Leonardo Sbaraglia". Libertad Digital. 7 August 2002.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Holland, Jonathan (14 April 2003). "Utopia". Variety.
  3. ^ Aguilar, Andrea (14 March 2003). "Las utopías cumplidas de Leonardo Sbaraglia". El País.
  4. ^ a b Vidal, Nuria (29 May 2008). "Utopía". Fotogramas.
  5. ^ a b c d Hopewell, John (21 August 2002). "TF1 Intl takes 'Utopia'". Variety.
  6. ^ "María Ripoll abandona la comedia y se sumerge en el «thriller» con «Utopía»". ABC. 19 March 2003.
  7. ^ Amo, Carlos del. "Leonardo Sbaraglia y Najwa Nimri protagonizan «Utopía»". Diario de León.