Adu (2020)

Three people, three stories, one thing in common: Africa.

Director:

Salvador Calvo

Writer:

Alejandro Hernández

Stars:

Luis Tosar, Álvaro Cervantes, Anna Castillo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luis Tosar	...	Gonzalo
Álvaro Cervantes	...	Mateo
Anna Castillo	...	Sandra
Moustapha Oumarou	...	Adú
Miquel Fernández	...	Miguel
Jesús Carroza	...	Javi
Adam Nourou	...	Massar
Zayiddiya Dissou	...	Alika
Ana Wagener	...	Paloma
Nora Navas	...	Carmen
Issaka Sawadogo	...	Kebila
Bella Agossou	...	Safí
Josean Bengoetxea	...	Comandante Guardia Civil
Eliane Chagas	...	Leke
Koffi Gahou	...	Neko

Storyline

In the coastal autonomous city of Melilla (located in north Africa but belonging Spain), Mateo is a Civil Guard with the task to protect the barb wire which divides the city of the rest of Africa to avoid the entering of African immigrants to Spain. During a mass attempt a night, Mateo is witness about as his partner Javi hits with his club in the head to an immigrant named Tatu, falling of the barb wire to the ground and dying in the fall, causing the rage in the rest of immigrants that seen it. At the same time, in a reservation of Mbouma, Cameroon, Gonzalo is a Spaniard working as external advisor to prevent the killing of elephants by poachers, who arrives too much late to save the most important elephant of the reservation. Unaware for him, this killing causes that the child Alika and his younger brother Adu be forced to flee from their little town in Mbouma pursued by poachers, after that they were accidental witnesses of the killing. While in Melilla Mateo doubts between saying...

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Plot Keywords:

childhood | connecting stories | africa | father daughter relation | elephant | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adu's name spelled in French as Adieu means farewell and carries a deeper meaning of a fond farewell or permanent goodbye to a dear friend.

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Goofs

At the Yaoundé airport scene, a RwandAir's Boeing 737 is seen at the platform. RwandAir doesn't fly (and has never flown) to Yaoundé. The only destination it serves in Cameroon is Douala.

User Reviews

Extraordinary!

I think 2020 will be remembered as the year in which "Adu" was released. I've been watching movies for almost 90 years. "Adu" is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and the seven-year-old boy who plays the title role is terrific... and before he was picked to portray this character, he didn't even know what a movie was... and didn't know how to read or write. Extraordinary! Please search engine his name, Moustapha Oumarou, and read about how he was discovered. Amazing.

One of the best directors I've worked with told us before rehearsals started, "Don't act. Forget about acting. I want you to behave." To the credit of Salvador Calvo who directed "Adu," that's exactly what the actors in his movie do: behave. There's no acting; it's real. This movie is what movie making is all about. I'll cut to the main point. In every award category for which a feature film qualifies, except "Actress in a Leading Role," this movie, "Adu," should win awards. And that's simply because there isn't a leading actress role in the movie. Anna Castillo should win for her supporting actress role, and either Luis Tosar or Adam Nourou should win for their supporting actor roles. Should be a tie so they can both win. And guess who should win for "Actor in a Leading Role?" You got it. The then 7-year-old Moustapha Oumarou. He owns the part. He owns the movie. It's his movie. He behaves in every scene he's in. And every other qualifying category should be won by "Adu," especially, Best Picture and Best Director.

I won't compare "Adu" with this year's South Korean winner because they can't be compared. "Adu" is in a class all alone. And we're talking about cinematography, screenplay, production design, costume design, sound editing, sound mixing, film editing. The director is god of a movie, and Salvador Calvo is the god of this movie... and should be recognized for his talent at coming award ceremonies.

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

French English Spanish

Release Date:

30 June 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adu

Filming Locations:

Murcia, Spain

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,085,946

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ikiru Films, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), Mediaset España

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1