The Beasts (2022 film)

The Beasts
Poster by James Verdesoto[1]
GalicianAs bestas
Directed byRodrigo Sorogoyen
Written by
Produced by
  • Thomas Pibarot
  • Anne-Laure Labadie
  • Jean Labadie
  • Rodrigo Sorogoyen
  • Nacho Lavilla
  • Eduardo Villanueva
  • Sandra Tapia Diaz
  • Ignasi Estapé
  • Ibon Cormenzana
Starring
CinematographyAlex de Pablo
Edited byAlberto del Campo
Music byOlivier Arson
Production
companies
  • Arcadia Motion Pictures
  • Caballo Films
  • Cronos Entertainment
  • Le Pacte
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 May 2022 (2022-05-26) (Cannes)
  • 20 July 2022 (2022-07-20) (France)
  • 11 November 2022 (2022-11-11) (Spain)
Running time
137 minutes[2]
Countries
  • Spain
  • France
Languages
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Galician
Box office$10.3 million[3]

The Beasts (Galician: As bestas) is a 2022 thriller film directed and produced by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who wrote the screenplay with Isabel Peña. A co-production between Spain and France, it features Spanish, French, and Galician dialogue. It stars Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido and Marie Colomb.

The film is loosely inspired by real events involving a Dutch couple in Santoalla, a semi-abandoned hamlet of the Spanish municipality of Petín, from 2010 to 2014.[4][5] It follows a married French couple (Ménochet and Foïs) settled in the Galician countryside, exploring issues of xenophobia and escalating hostility between neighbors buoyed by a conflict vis-à-vis a wind farm project, arriving to a point of no return.

The film made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2022, with a festival run that also included screenings in San Sebastián, Tokyo and Chicago. It was released theatrically in France on 20 July 2022 and in Spain on 11 November 2022. The Beasts earned a leading 17 nominations (including five for acting) at the 37th Goya Awards and won nine, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Ménochet, and Best Supporting Actor for Zahera. It also won the César Award for Best Foreign Film.

  1. ^ Jones, Holly (9 May 2022). "Cannes-Bound 'The Beasts,' from 'The Kingdom's' Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Gets Poster From James Verdesoto (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  2. ^ "AS BESTAS - Festival de Cannes". festival-cannes.com. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  3. ^ "The Beasts (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  4. ^ Lede, Adrián (13 November 2022). "El Crimen de Santoalla: El homicidio que conmocionó Galicia e inspiró la película 'As Bestas'". Quincemil – via El Español.
  5. ^ Chico, Fran (10 November 2022). "'As bestas': el crimen real que inspiró la nueva película de Rodrigo Sorogoyen". Fotogramas.