Caged Wings (Mi Soledad Tiene Alas) is a Spanish language drama film released in 2023, and it is the first film directed by the actor Mario Casas. Casas, who is known for his successful acting career in films such as Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo and El Coleccionista de Huesos, takes on a deeply personal and raw project that is close to his heart. Together with Belgian actress and screenwriter Déborah François, the film explores themes of trauma, neglect, artistic struggle, and the societal impact of fractured families.
Synopsis
The movie revolves around a young promising graffiti artist called Dan living on the edges of Barcelona. Wrought with limited opportunities, Dan exists in a working class neighborhood; he makes ends meet through petty criminal activities like smash and grabs that he does with his best friends, Vio and Reno. These acts are crimes, of course, but they are more of a representation of an adolescent seeking for freedom and an opportunity to escape.
Dan’s sense of control begins to shatter after his estranged father, Toño, is released from prison. Their reunion is far from quiet, sending ripples throughout years of bottled emotions. Toño is the personification of violence and neglect. He is a fierce, dangerous impact which Dan has tried, and failed, to push from his memory. Emotional turmoil takes a further step after Dan’s grandmother dies. She was the last family member that gave Dan love, enduring affection, and stability.
Feeling increasingly trapped by his father’s return and unable to confront the emotional burden stemming from his past, Dan decides to run away. Accompanied by Vio, he escapes to Madrid, intending to start afresh, hoping that the city will allow his aspirations to blossom. The path leading to change, however, always comes with obstacles. Upon arriving in the capital, Dan has no choice but to grapple with stark new realities like homelessness, destitution, and the emotional scars left by his childhood. The surviving love of his life, street art, becomes a double edged sword.
The movie questions if Dan can truly take flight and leave behind the confines of his history or if the sociocultural environment surrounding him will endlessly keep shunning his attempts at liberation.
Cast & Crew
Director and Screenwriter:
Mario Casas
Co-Screenwriter:
Déborah François
Main Cast:
Óscar Casas as Dan
Candela González as Vio
Farid Bechara as Reno
Francisco Boira as Toño
Marta Bayarri as the Pawn Shop Owner
Ángeles Moreno as Dan’s Grandmother
Adolfo Parra as the Drug Dealer
Yerlin Ureña Gil as Hostel Receptionist
Cinematography:
Edu Canet Ciscar
Editor:
Verónica Callón
Music Composer:
Zeltia Montes
Production Companies:
Nostromo Pictures
Distributor:
Warner Bros. Pictures
IMDb Rating and Reception
Caged Wings holds an IMDb rating of 5.3 out of 10 signifying that audience reception was mixed to moderate. Viewers have praised the film for its raw emotion, urban authenticity, and solid performances, especially that of Óscar Casas who portrays Dan. On the other hand, some critics have noted that the story is told in a very predictable manner where originality is scarce in the plot development.
Without regard to this score, the film has found a niche audience that appreciates its intense depiction of youth at the fringes of society alongside emotional depth. The visual storytelling and focus on themes were also noted as strong elements.
Critical Reception
Critics were divided in their evaluations of Caged Wings but the consensus from a number of reviews is that Mario Casas received undue praise for his directorial debut, particularly undermining visual direction, tone, and overall execution.
Pablo Vázquez on a Spanish film magazine commended the film with a score of four out of five stars. In his assessment, he quoted “organic, tumultuous, and intuitive,” which showcased his appreciation for the film’s emotional resonance even if it did not offer fresh narrative perspectives. His remarks about the flick also suggested appreciation for the film’s authenticity and high energy.
On the contrary, Luis Martínez, an established film critic, appeared more critical as he marked the film with lukewarm rating of two stars out of five. He expressed that the movie focused more on the visual elements and emotional facets at the expense of depth and originality. Drawing a comparison to the classic Spanish “quinqui” cinema, he dismissed the film for lacking the raw realism that it intended to portray.
Javier Ocaña from yet another national publication acknowledged that his major critique was the absence of narrative novelty but still applauded the sound design and camerawork adding another layer to the storytelling, despite it being a unique take of a worn-out concept.
Production and Filming
The film was shot in a number of urban areas which included: Bellvitge, La Mina, and The Lavapies in Madrid, all of which are located in Spain. The character’s socio-economic struggles are authentically portrayed through these locations.
In his physique preparations for the role of Dan, Óscar Casas had to undergo rigorous work, including an 8 kilogram weight loss to reflect the toll of Dan’s life. Immersive and committed have also been used to describe Casas’ performance, further enhancing the realism of the story.
The Caged Wings soundtrack includes Zeltia Montes’ “Volar sin alas”, a notable piece performed by Morad, a Spanish rapper who rose to fame due to his songs on street and hardships. It adds to the film’s powerful emotional undertone, while enhancing the themes of longing, freedom, and isolation.
Themes and Style
Caged Wings is entrenched in Cine Quinqui—a subgenre of working class centered Spanish cinema, that primarily emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Amid this, Mario Casas puts modern twist into the genre by integrating concepts like generational trauma, emotional suppression, and unexpressed creativity.
“Caged wings” serves as the primary metaphor encapsulating Dan’s enduring internal conflict—a wish to fly and be free versus the restraining weight of his circumstances and past. In the case of Dan, graffiti serves as both a literal and symbolic representation of expression, capturing his pain, resistance, and hopes.
The film uses subdued color palettes instead of vibrant ones and embraces handheld camera shots with natural lighting to create an intimate atmosphere that fully immerses the viewer in Dan’s world. Its emotional create contour through the lens of color as it’s filled with shadows, various shades of grey, and sporadic bursts of street art.
Release Information
Spanish Caged Wings became available on Spanish theater screens on August 25, 2023, and premiered in France for the Paterna Film Festival on August 18, 2023. Netflix streamed it on January 19, 2024, increasing its international audience.
Caged Wings enthralls the audience with the relatable topic of torn families alongside the urban youth lifestyle. In some sense, this movie feels fresh due to its direction, performances, and emotional honesty; however, the storytelling isn’t novel. This film owes its backbone to sincerity and visual prose, the very things that paint the discomforts of growing up in an environment that overshadows free will behind painful legacies and limited options. Mario proved to us that he was much more than an actor, while Óscar Casas stunned us in his performance as a youth desperate to escape life’s traps. His raw and captivating performance etched this role into the minds of the audience, making the film surprisingly resonating despite its lack of innovative narrative.
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