Life in the Abyss (La vida abismal) 17 years old

This film evokes Valencia illegal gaming back in the seventies. A young peasant -Ferran- plays cards not much to make a living but as a distraction of his daily routine. Ferran meets a larger-than-life character -el chino- who happens to play cards for a living. This other guy is depicted as a Toni Manero look alike but his charisma an arrogance lead the innocent Ferran to join him in his schemes to make money to end up betting all on the next card table. At some point the action moves to Madrid and Ferran steps down losing track of El chino who takes on more dangerous games making a living out of Russian Roulette until the round gets loaded. Based on real events this is no Hollywood epic but it captures the desperation of the characters very effectively.

Credits

Life in the Abyss Cast

Name Character
Óscar Jaenada He was 31, now 49 years old as El chino
Pep Cortés He was 61, 74 years old when he died as Labrador
Antonio Valero He was 51, now 68 years old as Ferrán adult
Pepa López She was 54, now 71 years old as La mare
Juli Mira He was 58, now 75 years old as Salvador
Nausicaa Bonnín She was 21, now 39 years old as Rosa
José Sospedra as Ferrán jove
Albert Forner He was 52, now 69 years old as Capellà

Life in the Abyss Crew

Name Department
Ventura Pons as Director. He was 61 (now 78) years old Directing
Ventura Pons as Screenplay. He was 61 (now 78) years old Writing
Ferran Torrent as Novel. He was 55 (now 73) years old Writing
Life in the Abyss (17 years)

  • Release day: Friday, January 26, 2007
  • Runtime: 90 minutes