Following his award-winning
Familia (1997), 30-year-old writer-director Fernando Leon de Aranoa set this Spanish drama in Madrid's grim working-class fringe neighborhood. Caught in the concrete jungle, 15-year-old friends Rai (Crispulo Cabezas), Manu (Eloi Yebra), and Javi (Timy) pass the summer dreaming of girls and sandy beaches. Javi is surprised by the sexual interest of his pals in his sister Susi (Marieta Orozco). Minus a vehicle, Manu struggles to keep his pizza delivery job. Entering a contest for an exotic vacation, Rai instead wins a jet ski -- which is stolen before he manages to profit by selling it. Manu and his father (Francisco Algora) lie about Manu's absent junkie brother, while Javi's mother (Alicia Sanchez) gets a court restraint to deal with Javi's violent father (Enrique Villen). The film features a soundtrack of Spanish rap and rock. At the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival, Leon de Aranoa received a "Best Director" award plus two other awards for screenwriting. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide