The Plague (2013)

Raül, a farmer that tries to grow organic food, hires Iurie to help him in the fields. Iure is a Moldavian wrestling fighter, but in order to earn a living he has to work in whatever it comes. Slowly, their personal histories intertwine with those of three solitary women: Maria, an elder that has to leave the country house where she has always lived to join a retirement home; Rose, a nurse from Philippines who just arrived into the country; and Maribel, a prostitute that has less and less clients. The destinies of all these characters become entwined as the summer goes on. The Plague is a film of intertwining stories, that offers a moving portrait of life in the outskirts of Barcelona. The main characters are not actors. They play as themselves after four years of working with the director. This long process has permitted Ballús to reveal the uncertainty and the rebel spirit that underlies contemporary crisis-hit Spain.