Salve Maria

Salve Maria
Film poster
Directed by	Mar Coll
Screenplay by	Mar Coll Valentina Viso
Based on	Amek ez dute by Katixa Agirre
Produced by	Sergi Casamitjana María Zamora
Starring	Laura Weissmahr Oriol Pla
Cinematography	Nilo Zimmermann
Edited by	Aina Calleja
Music by	Zeltia Montes
Production companies	Escándalo Films Elastica Films
Distributed by	Elastica Films
Release dates	8 August 2024 (2024-08-08)(Locarno) 31 October 2024 (2024-10-31)(Spain)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	Spain
Languages	Catalan Spanish

Salve Maria is a 2024 Spanish drama film directed, co-written by Mar Coll starring Laura Weissmahr. Based on the novel Amek ez dute by Basque writer Katixa Agirre, ^[1] it follows Maria (Weissmahr), a promising young writer and new mother, who becomes obsessed by the case of a woman who drowned her twins in the bathtub. ^[2] The film competed for Golden Leopard in main competition of 77th Locarno Film Festival ^[3] and had its world premiere on 8 August 2024. ^[4] It is mostly shot in Catalan. ^[5]

Synopsis

Maria, a talented young author and new mother, comes across a disturbing headline: a French woman has drowned her 10-month-old twins in the bathtub. This horrifying event captures Maria's thoughts, turning into an all-consuming fixation. She grapples with the question: Why did the woman commit such an act? From then on, the shadow of infanticide hangs over Maria's existence, haunting her.

Cast

• Laura Weissmahr as Maria Agirre ^[6]
• Oriol Pla as Nico ^[6]
• Giannina Fruttero as Ana ^[5]
• Belén Cruz

Production

Salve Maria marks the return of Mar Coll to the cinema. Produced by Escándalo Films and Elastica Films with the support of ICEC and ICAA, and the participation of RTVE and Movistar Plus+. ^[7]

Mar Coll talking to Variety about the protagonist said, "María is a repentant mother, an association of words that generates automatic unease". ^[8]

Filming began in the last week of January 2024 in Barcelona, La Vall de Boí (Lleida Pyrenees) and Tarragona. ^[9]

Release

Salve Maria premiered on 8 August 2024, as part of the 77th Locarno Film Festival, in Competition. ^{[10] [11]} It also made it to the official selection slate of the 69th Valladolid International Film Festival. ^[12]

The film will be released on 31 October 2024 in theatres by Elastica Films. ^[13]

Reception

Mariana Hristova reviewing the film at Locarno for Cineuropa indicated that while the script is skillfully written and effectively portrays the protagonist's intense emotions, the focus on symptoms rather than delving into the underlying reasons for the character's emotional breakdown feels superficial. The obvious pressures of personal time constraints and societal expectations related to motherhood are explored, but deeper analysis is lacking. ^[14]

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily described Salve Maria as a film "whose concerns feel totally in tune with the times". ^[5]

Beatriz Martínez of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a "dark, tremendously disturbing, suffocating work that talks about motherhood and postpartum depression in an unprecedented way". ^[15]

Philipp Engel of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, declaring it "impeccable in its form". ^[16]

Carmela López Lobo of La Razón rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting "Laura Weissmahr's excellent work" and the "deeply unsettling" nature of the film as its best. ^[17]

Elsa Fernández-Santos of El País wrote that the chilling picture "confronts the viewer with the tragedy of a woman dragged into the repulsion of her own flesh". ^[18]

Accolades

Award	Ceremony date	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Locarno Film Festival	17 August 2024	Golden Leopard	Mar Coll	Nominated	[19]
		Special Mention		Special Mention	[20]
Valladolid International Film Festival	26 October 2024	Golden Spike	Salve Maria	Nominated	[21] [22]
		Best Actress	Laura Weissmahr	Won
El Gouna Film Festival	1 November 2024	Best Actress		Won	[23]
Gaudí Awards	18 January 2025	Best Film	Salve Maria	Nominated	[24]
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Mar Coll, Valentina Viso	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Oriol Pla	Nominated
		Best New Performance	Laura Weissmahr	Won
		Best Cinematography	Nilo Zimmerman	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Zeltia Montes	Nominated
		Best Editing	Aina Calleja	Nominated
Feroz Awards	25 January 2025	Best Drama Film	Salve Maria	Won	[25] [26]
		Best Main Actress in a Film	Laura Weissmahr	Nominated
		Best Film Poster	Octavio Terol, Lluís Tudela	Won
		Best Original Soundtrack	Zeltia Montes	Nominated
Goya Awards	8 February 2025	Best New Actress	Laura Weissmahr	Pending	[27]
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Mar Coll, Valentina Viso	Pending

References

1. "'Salve Maria', la película basada en 'Amek ez dute' de Katixa Agirre, participará en el Festival de Locarno" ['Salve Maria', the film based on 'Amek ez dute' by Katixa Agirre, will participate in the Locarno Festival]. EiTB (in Spanish). 11 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
2. Coll, Mar (10 July 2024). "Salve Maria". Cineuropa . Retrieved 26 July 2024.
3. Szalai, Georg (10 July 2024). "Locarno Fest Lineup Includes Hong Sang-soo, Paz Vega Films, Honors for Mélanie Laurent, Guillaume Canet". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 26 July 2024.
4. "Salve Maria". Locarno Film Festival. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
5. Holland, Jonathan (24 October 2024). "'Salve Maria': Valladolid Review". ScreenDaily .
6. Batlle, Diego (8 August 2024). "Críticas de Competencia Internacional: "Salve María", de Mar Coll; y "La Mort viendra", de Christoph Hochhäusler - #Locarno2024". Otros Cines.
7. Rivera, Alfonso (25 January 2024). "Mar Coll returns to cinema with Salve Maria". Cineuropa. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
8. Marta Balaga (10 July 2024). "Locarno Reveals Lineup, Names Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet for Career Achievement Awards". Variety . Retrieved 27 July 2024.
9. "Comienza el rodaje de 'Las madres no', la nueva película de Mar Coll" [Filming begins on 'Las madres no', the new film by Mar Coll]. The Seventh Art (in Spanish). 24 January 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
10. "EXCLUSIVE: First clip for Locarno entry Salve Maria". Cineuropa. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
11. González, Carlos (9 August 2024). "Mar Coll estrena en Locarno su visión de 'Las madres no'". Noticias de Álava.
12. "Paz Vega, Carlos Marques-Marcet y Mar Coll entre los directores del extraordinario despliegue de títulos españoles para la 69 edición de Seminci" [Paz Vega, Carlos Marques-Marcet y Mar Together with the directors of the extraordinary description of Spanish titles for the 69th edition of Seminci]. El Mundo . 26 August 2024.
13. "SALVE MARIA, de Mar Coll, os presenta esta maravilla de póster. Y tiene nueva fecha de estreno en cines: 31 de octubre" [SA LVE MARIA, by Ma r Coll, presents this wonderful poster. And it has a new release date in theaters: October 31st]. Elastica Films (in Spanish). X. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
14. Hristova, Mariana (8 August 2024). "Review: Salve Maria". Cineuropa. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
15. Martínez, Beatriz (31 October 2024). "Crítica de 'Salve María', una de las películas más valientes del cine español reciente que habla de la maternidad y de la depresión posparto de una manera inédita". Fotogramas .
16. Engel, Philipp (30 October 2024). "Crítica de 'Salve María': clásica atracción por el abismo con elementos del género y reivindicación feminista". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
17. López Lobo, Carmela (1 November 2024). "Crítica de "Salve María": la peor cara de la maternidad ★★★★". La Razón .
18. Fernández-Santos, Elsa (31 October 2024). "'Salve María': Mar Coll compone un escalofriante cuadro sobre las tinieblas de la maternidad". El País .
19. "Locarno77: The Pardo d'Oro goes to Akiplėša (Toxic) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, a striking vision of the teenage female body as a battleground". Locarno Festival. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
20. Georg Szalai (17 August 2024). "Locarno Film Festival Top Prize Goes to Lithuanian Drama 'Toxic,' the Feature Debut of Saule Bliuvaite". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 18 August 2024.
21. Rivera, Alfonso (27 August 2024). "18 Spanish films set to take part in the 69th Seminci". Cineuropa . Retrieved 7 October 2024.
22. Juesas, María (26 October 2024). "Seminci 2024: 'Misericordia', del francés Alain Guiraudie, conquista el festival de Valladolid". Fotogramas .
23. Ross, Rafa Sales (1 November 2024). "French Thriller About Syrian Exiles 'Ghost Trail' Wins Top Prize at El Gouna Film Festival". Variety .
24. "EN DIRECTE | Premis Gaudí 2025: "El 47" i "Casa en flames" parteixen com a favorites". 3/24 . 18 January 2025 – via 3Cat.
25. Pinilla J., Esther (28 November 2024). "La lista completa de los nominados a los Premios Feroz 2025" [The complete list of nominees for the 2025 Feroz Awards]. Telecinco (in Spanish).
26. Blanes, Pepa (26 January 2025). "Los Feroz reivindican 'Salve María' y a Pedro Almodóvar en el año de la serie 'Querer'". Cadena SER .
27. Partearroyo, Daniel de (18 December 2024). "Premios Goya 2025: 'El 47' domina con 14 nominaciones, seguida de 'La infiltrada'" [Goya Awards 2025: 'El 47' dominates with 14 nominations, followed by 'The Infiltrator']. Cinemanía (in Spanish) – via 20minutos.es.

External links

• Salve Maria at IMDb  
• Salve Maria at Rotten Tomatoes