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Upon Entry
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Upon Entry (La llegada)
Directed by	Alejandro Rojas Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Screenplay by	Alejandro Rojas Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Produced by	Carles Torras Carlos Juárez Xosé Zapata Sergio Adrià Alba Sotorra
Starring	Alberto Ammann Bruna Cusí Ben Temple Laura Gómez
Cinematography	Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Edited by	Emanuele Tiziani
Production companies	Zabriskie Films Basque Films Sygnatia
Distributed by	Karma Films
Release dates	November 2022 (2022-11) (PÖFF) 16 June 2023 (2023-06-16) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Languages	Spanish English Catalan

Upon Entry (released as Upon Entry (La llegada) in Spain) is a 2022 Spanish drama film directed by Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez (in their directorial debut feature). It stars Alberto Ammann and Bruna Cusí alongside Ben Temple and Laura Gómez.

Plot

The plot concerns the unpleasant vetting and questioning procedures that the couple Diego (a Venezuelan urbanist) and Elena (a contemporary dancer from Barcelona) suffers at the Newark Airport upon moving from Barcelona to the United States to start off a new life.

Cast

• Alberto Ammann as Diego
• Bruna Cusí as Elena
• Ben Temple as Agent Barrett
• Laura Gómez as Agent Vasquez

Production

Written and directed by Venezuelan filmmakers Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez, Upon Entry is based on the helmers' personal experiences as immigrants. The film is a Spanish co-production by Zabriskie Films, Basque Films, and Sygnatia, with the participation of TV3, and the support from ICEC [ca], the Madrid regional administration, the Basque Government and Creative Europe's MEDIA.

Release

Upon Entry screened at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in November 2022. It also made it to the official selection of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival. It was picked up by Charades and Anonymous Content ahead of its screening at the South by Southwest (SXSW) for its North-American premiere. It also received screenings at the 26th Málaga Film Festival and BAFICI. Distributed by Karma Films, it was released theatrically in Spain on 16 June 2023.

Charades closed distribution deals in Italy (Exit Media), Japan (Shochiku), Portugal (Alambique), India (PictureWorks), CIS (Pionier), and France (Condor Distribution).

Reception

According to the American review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Upon Entry has a 100% approval rating based on 12 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10.

Júlia Olmo of Cineuropa assessed that despite the film seemingly touching towards its end upon the clichés it managed to steer clear of before, it "manages to be an enjoyable film", "to achieve its verisimilitude and to make us forget for a while" "that we are watching a fictional film".

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily considered that the film "plays out in that grey zone where legitimate questioning ends and the state torture manual begins", pointing out how generating "so much drama from what is basically 74 minutes of people talking across a table at one another is very clever film making indeed".

Jordi Batlle Caminal of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting the entire cast as the best thing about the film.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023:

• 1st — Mondosonoro (consensus)
• 2nd — El Cultural (critics)
• 7th — El Periódico de Catalunya (critics)
• 8th — El Español (Series & Más consensus)
• 10th — El Confidencial (consensus)

Accolades

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2023

References

1. ^ ""Upon Entry", a la secció oficial del festival de Kolkata Film Festival". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 20 December 2022.
2. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (18 January 2023). "Charades, Anonymous Content Team on Spanish Psychological Thriller 'Upon Entry' Ahead of SXSW (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
3. ^ Holland, Jonathan (15 March 2023). "'Upon Entry': Malaga Review". ScreenDaily.
4. ^ Olmo, Júlia (29 November 2022). "Review: Upon Entry". Cineuropa.
5. Belategui, Oskar (17 June 2023). "'Upon Entry': Una pesadilla en el aeropuerto muy real". El Correo. Grupo Vocento.
6. Sánchez Sequera, Marco (13 June 2023). "'Upon Entry (La llegada)' – estreno en cines 16 de junio". Audiovisual451.
7. Leffler, Rebecca (4 May 2023). "Spanish SXSW title 'Upon Entry' thrills for Charades in France, key territories (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
8. "Upon Entry". RottenTomatoes. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
9. Batlle Caminal, Jordi (16 June 2023). "Crítica de 'Upon Entry', el thriller kafkiano de Alberto Ammann y Bruna Cusí". Fotogramas.
10. "Las mejores películas nacionales de 2023". Mondosonoro. 26 December 2023.
11. "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023, el año de 'Cerrar los ojos'". El Cultural. 21 December 2023 – via El Español.
12. Casas, Quim (22 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023". El Periódico de Catalunya. Prensa Ibérica.
13. Prieto, Belén; Morillo, Valentina (24 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023". Series & Más – via El Español.
14. Medina, Marta (21 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023: niños robados, sexualidad femenina y monjas, muchas monjas". El Confidencial.
15. "Alberto Ammann y Bruna Cusí retenidos al intentar entrar en EEUU en 'Upon Entry'". Cine con Ñ. 16 December 2022.
16. Dasgupta, Priyanka (23 December 2022). "Curtains on Kolkata International Film Festival with two films from Bangladesh & Spain sharing top Rs 51 lakh award". The Times of India.
17. Meza, Ed (18 March 2023). "Spain's '20,000 Species of Bees,' Panamanian Drama 'Sister & Sister' Win Malaga Film Festival's Golden Biznagas". Variety.
18. Pedersen, Erik (June 29, 2023). "Golden Trailer Awards: Cocaine Bear, Only Murders In The Building & Oppenheimer Among Top Winners – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
19. "Palmarés completo de los Premios Forqué 2023: '20.000 especies de abejas' y 'La Mesías' lideran la apertura de la temporada". Cinemanía. 17 December 2023 – via 20minutos.es.
20. Álvarez Patilla, Diego (27 January 2024). "» Cultura Premios Feroz 2024: '20.000 especies de abejas', 'Robot Dreams' y 'La Mesías' dominan la lista de ganadores". rtve.es.
21. Oteo, Jana (5 February 2024). "Premios Gaudí 2024: Lista completa de los ganadores". La Razón.
22. "Candidaturas de los Premios del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos, Medallas CEC". Decine21. 28 December 2023.
23. "Premios Goya 2024 | Palmarés completo: todos los ganadores de la gran noche de 'La sociedad de la nieve'". Cinemanía. 11 February 2024 – via 20minutos.es.
24. Keates, Emma (December 5, 2023). "Here are all the nominees for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit awards". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
25. "Todos los nominados de la 32 edición de los Premios Unión de Actores y Actrices de España". Escribiendo Cine. 4 February 2024.
26. "Todos los ganadores de los 32 Premios de la Unión de Actores y Actrices de España". Escribiendo Cine. 11 March 2024.

External links

• Upon Entry at IMDb

• 2022 films
• 2022 drama films
• Spanish drama films
• 2020s Spanish films
• 2020s Spanish-language films
• 2020s English-language films
• 2020s Catalan-language films
• Films set in airports
• Films set in New York City
• Films about immigration to the United States
• 2022 directorial debut films