FOUR’S A CROWD

Julian, a fifty-year-old, divorced executive in a high-tech company, is a newly converted apostle of carpooling. Especially since Lorena, twenty years his junior, single and armed with a disarming smile, accompanies him weekly from Bilbao to Madrid. This Sunday, however, Julian is feverish because he is about to declare his undying love for Lorena. But he’ll have to find the right moment for his serenade at 90 mph, because two other passengers are expected for the trip: Sergio, a ravishing single with a disarming smile, who uses the profile picture of his fat cousin for carpooling. And Rodrigo, who will quickly turn out to be a capital A-Asshole. A rare specimen of crass selfishness with a small bladder to boot. But that’s really the least of Julian’s worries, even if he doesn’t realize that yet… What’s incredible about Alex de la Iglesia is that he could make a blockbuster out of a rock and a leaf of lettuce if he wanted to. Out of an aggressively mundane situation, which in the hands of other directors would water down into soapy pap, he – together with long-time partner-in-crime Jorge Guerricaechevarría – distills a darkly shimmering diamond of black humor, with sharp, acid dialogs and a share of deviously deranged characters. And all the while mocking all the modern man’s shortcomings, he still ends up with a surprisingly sweet love story between dysfunctional losers? Hats off to you, Alex!