Tesis (1996)

While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty...

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (screenplay), Alejandro Amenábar (story),

Stars:

Ana Torrent, Fele Martínez, Eduardo Noriega

14 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ana Torrent	...	Ángela
Fele Martínez	...	Chema
Eduardo Noriega	...	Bosco Herranz
Xabier Elorriaga	...	Castro
Miguel Picazo	...	Figueroa
Nieves Herranz	...	Sena
Rosa Campillo	...	Yolanda
Paco Hernández	...	Padre Angela (as Francisco Hernández)
Rosa Ávila	...	Madre Angela
Teresa Castanedo	...	Presentadora T.V.
José Miguel Caballero	...	Conserje Videoteca
Joserra Cadiñanos	...	Vigilante
Julio Vélez	...	Encargado tren
Pilar Ortega	...	Encargada C. Ventas
Olga Margallo	...	Vanessa

Storyline

Why is death and violence so fascinating? Is it morally correct to show violence in movies? If so, is there a limit to what we should show? That's the subject of Ángela's examination paper. She is a young student at a film school in Madrid. Together with the student Chema (who is totally obsessed with violent movies) they find a snuff movie in which a young girl is tortured and killed. Soon they discover that the girl was a former student at their school...

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Plot Keywords:

violence | film school | torture | mutilation | man with glasses | 

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Taglines:

Me llamo Ángela. Me van a matar. [English Tagline: My name is Angela. They're going to kill me.]

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong and perverse violent content, brief strong sexuality and strong language

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Thesis

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€721,214 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Las Producciones del Escorpión S.L., Sogepaq

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 118 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film had a relatively small budget of P116 million - equal to about 696,000 EUROS.

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Goofs

When Professor Figueroa finds the door to the secret library, before he enters, he wears glasses. In he next shot, as he enters the door, the glasses are gone, but they come back some shots after.

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Quotes

Bosco Herranz: What color are my eyes?

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Connections

References Alien³ (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Máquinas en Celo"
Written by Ingresó Cadáver
Performed by Ingresó Cadáver

User Reviews

Effective Thriller

This film is an efficient thriller from Spain. It deals with the popular urban legend of "snuff" films (films which depict a real-life murder committed purely for the sake of the film).

The plot involves a young film student Angela (Ana Terrant) who is doing a thesis on cinematic violence. To research her thesis she seeks out the most extreme violence films she can find and accidentally stumbles upon a snuff film depicting the torture and murder of a fellow student from her university. She soon starts investigating the film.

The film is well-made and well-acted with several effective scares and twists. It's main message is that the people who watch violent films are in some way accomplices to the violent acts that they watch. This is an old point that has been made several times before. It also deals with the attraction of the forbidden. For example, in the opening scene, Angela goes to see a dead body on a railway track, partly because she has been told not to. Just when she, and the audience, are about to see the body she is stopped. In another scene, Angela is looking away from the snuff film but takes a quick look when she is told not to.