Madrid 1987 Imdb Guide
This is not a film for everyone. It is dialogue-heavy, slow-burning, and often uncomfortable. There is a significant amount of nudity, which is treated matter-of-factly rather than erotically, serving to heighten the vulnerability and the power dynamics at play.
Some viewers may find Miguel’s rhetoric tedious or the ending somewhat abrupt. However, for those who enjoy character studies and chamber pieces, "Madrid, 1987" is a rewarding experience. It avoids easy moralizing, leaving the viewer to judge who, if anyone, "won" the encounter.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) A claustrophobic, intellectually stimulating drama carried by two powerhouse performances. It serves as a fascinating time capsule of a specific moment in Spanish history and a timeless study of the power struggle between age and youth.
IMDb Summary for Quick Reference:
Madrid, 1987 is a 2011 Spanish drama directed by David Trueba
. Despite the title, the movie was released in 2011 but is set during the hot summer of 1987 in post-Franco Spain.
The narrative is a minimalist, dialogue-driven exploration of power and generational conflict. The Meeting Madrid 1987 Imdb
: Miguel (José Sacristán) is a famous, cynical, and aging journalist. He agrees to an interview with Angela (María Valverde), a young and introverted journalism student.
: Miguel’s true intention is to seduce the young woman. After they move from a public café to a private apartment, a strange twist of fate leads to them both being naked and accidentally locked inside a small bathroom The Confrontation
: Stripped of their clothes and social pretenses, they spend the next several hours trapped together. The bathroom becomes a stage for an intense psychological and philosophical standoff.
: Miguel represents the disillusioned intellectuals of the post-Franco era, while Angela embodies the curiosity and independence of a new generation. Their conversation covers everything from literature and politics to careerism, aging, and the raw vulnerability of human connection. The film is noted for its claustrophobic intensity and relies almost entirely on the two lead performances. the movie today? Madrid, 1987 (2011) - Plot - IMDb
Summaries * Two characters: old and young; teacher and pupil; man and woman. Four walls within which they conjure intellectualism,
The 2011 Spanish drama Madrid, 1987 , directed by David Trueba, is a cerebral chamber piece that explores a generational and intellectual clash between an aging journalist and a young student. On , the film currently holds a 6.2/10 rating based on over 2,500 user reviews. Core Narrative and Setup The film follows This is not a film for everyone
(José Sacristán), a cynical, well-known newspaper columnist, and
(María Valverde), an idealistic journalism student. What begins as a professional interview in a cafe quickly shifts to a friend's apartment, where the two become accidentally trapped naked in a small, dingy bathroom for nearly 24 hours. Key Themes and Analysis Critics and viewers on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes highlight several central themes: Generational Conflict:
The film serves as an allegory for Spain's transition, twelve years after the end of the Franco dictatorship. Miguel represents a fading, bitter intellectualism, while Ángela represents a new, questioning generation. Vulnerability through Nudity:
Stripping the characters literally bared them emotionally and intellectually. The bathroom setting levels the power dynamic, forcing a raw confrontation of ideas and egos. Cinematic Minimalism:
Most of the 105-minute runtime occurs within the four walls of the bathroom, relying heavily on sharp, verbose dialogue rather than traditional action. Reception and Critical Debate
The film is noted for its polarizing nature among audiences: IMDb Summary for Quick Reference:
The plot is deceptively simple. It’s 1987 in Madrid. An aging, cynical journalist and critic (José Sacristán) agrees to interview a much younger, idealistic university student (María Valverde). The interview is supposed to happen over coffee at a café. Instead, they end up alone in his friend’s cramped apartment.
When the friend locks them in and leaves with the keys, the two are stranded. No phones. No food. No escape. The only refuge? A tiny, cold bathroom.
What begins as a professional meeting quickly devolves into a power struggle, a confession booth, and eventually, a bizarre physical affair.
To understand why Madrid 1987 has lasting value on IMDb, you have to understand the context. The film is an allegory for Spain’s "Transition" (la Transición) following the death of Franco in 1975.
The bathroom is Spain. Locked in a decaying space, the old guard (Miguel) tries to lecture the youth about history, while the youth accuses the old guard of selling out. The nudity serves a crucial purpose: without clothes, there is no status, no uniform, no generation gap visible. Only flesh and ideas remain.
Set against the sweltering backdrop of Madrid in the late spring of 1987, the film follows Miguel (José Sacristán), a celebrated but cynical newspaper columnist in his late 50s, and Ángela (María Valverde), a beautiful and ambitious journalism student in her early 20s. What begins as a mentorship—an interview that Miguel agrees to grant—quickly turns into a battle of wits, egos, and desires when the two become accidentally locked inside a bathroom together.
If you scroll through the IMDb "Reviews" sorted by helpfulness, 90% of them praise José Sacristán. At the age of 74 during filming, he learned the entire 100-page script, much of which consists of single uninterrupted ten-minute monologues. His performance won the Goya Award for Best Actor, and many critics argue his character’s final monologue about the death of print journalism is one of the greatest cinematic soliloquies of the 2010s.
María Valverde, then 24, held her own. Despite the inherent power imbalance of the script (a naked young woman with an older man), Valverde’s performance shifts the dynamic. By the third act, Ángela is no longer the student; she is the prosecutor, putting the entire Francoist generation on trial.
