THE YEAR OF THE PLAGUE

Víctor is what they call a “friki,” in Spain, that is a nerd who compares everything in his uneventful life with the movies he’s seen. Since his girlfriend left him for a more “mature” man he’s just going through the motions. His colleagues try to set him up with a new significant other, but to no avail, because he turns everyone down. That is, until the charming Lola seems to be able to lure him into a new relationship. But then he gets a phone call from his panicky ex: the people in her surroundings are suddenly behaving like emotionless robots. Might all this have something to do with the latest craze for ginseng plants that everyone is dying to have in their homes? Víctor doesn’t know what’s what anymore, but counting on his ample film memory, he sets out to save his old flame, firmly set on becoming a superhero. The Spanish-Mexican-Belgian coproduction The Year of the Plague doesn’t take itself too seriously. Despite the countless references to famous horror movies, this adaptation of a bestseller by Catalan author Marc Pastor is first and foremost a funny remake of the cult classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Among the actors, we recognize Ivan Massagué (Pan’s Labyrinth), Miriam Giovanelli (Dracula 3D), and Sílvia Abril (Ghost Graduation).