The Daughter (2021 film)

Irene is a teenage girl living in a youth detention center who has just got pregnant. She is offered to live with Javier and Adela (a couple desperate to have a child) in a remote house in the mountains in exchange for the baby.^[1][2]

• Javier Gutiérrez as Javier
• Patricia López Arnaiz as Adela
• Irene Virgüez as Irene

The Daughter was written by Manuel Martín Cuenca and Alejandro Hernández based on a "horror-oriented" original story by Félix Vidal.^[3]

The film was produced by MOD Producciones, La Loma Blanca PC, and La Hija Producciones La Película AIE, with the participation of RTVE, Canal Sur Radio y Televisión and Movistar+, funding from the ICAA and Arcano Financiación Audiovisual, support from A.A.II.CC. [es] and the sponsoring of the Diputación Provincial de Jaén [es].^[4] The score was composed and performed by Vetusta Morla.^[5]

Fully shot in the province of Jaén, filming locations included the provincial capital (Jaén) as well as the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park.^[6] The fictional couple's house in the mountains was located in the so-called Llanos del Peral.^[7]

The film had its world premiere at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 13 September 2021.^[8] It also screened at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival later in the month. Distributed by Caramel Films,^[4] the film was theatrically released in Spain on 26 November 2021.^[9]

According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Daughter has a 100% approval rating based on 8 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.70/10.^[10]

Janire Zurbano of Cinemanía gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, considering that while lacking the rhythm and plot-turns of other Martín Cuenca's films such as Cannibal and The Motive, the almost theatrical mise-en-scène and the visual power of the landscapes put tension and pressure on the viewers; cornering them to identify with the protagonists.^[11]

Beatriz Martínez of Fotogramas gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, considering the film a masterpiece of contemporary Spanish cinema, a film "as shocking as it is memorable, as a macabre fable".^[12]

Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 60 out of 100 points, considering that—despite praising the exquisite cinematography, the composition of the shots, the score and the performances of the adults—it was a "slow, predictable and boring" film and that the child actress' performance was subpar.^[13]

Quim Casas of El Periódico de Catalunya gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, considering that the "elegant and austere" filmmaking plays well on its setting and the reduced number of characters.^[14]

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily wrote that the film "is gripping, and the script generally keeps one step ahead".^[15]