The Apostate

(El apóstata)
Frederico Veiroj | Drama, Fiction, Comedy

2014 | 80 minutes | France, Uruguay

An existential comedy about a young man in the increasingly quixotic quest of formally having his name struck from the Catholic church’s baptismal record.

Synopsis

Tamayo knows he needs to change the person he has become under the pressure of his parents’ expectations. His opposition manifests itself in the increasingly quixotic quest of formally having his name struck from the Catholic church’s baptismal record. But finding his own path is very hard and as a first step, it seems helpful to turn his feelings into words. With the innocence of an adolescent - and with the sincerity of someone addressing letters to a friend overseas - Tamayo goes over the weaknesses and little miseries that his family passed on to him. As Tamayo’s correspondence revisits the milestones of his tempestuous past, his wild and tender gaze on the scenery of Madrid - with its streetscapes, office buildings, parks, and altars - reveals his beliefs, his desires, and his turmoil.

Reviews

"Working within a tradition of heightened, impressionistic satire, Veiroj demonstrates a rare aptitude for depicting his distraught protagonist's emotional world." - Yonca Talu, Film Comment Magazine

"Offers a wry absurdist take on existential crisis without resorting to cliche." - Leah Pickett, Chicago Reader

"...inflected with a sense of mischief and wonder that teeters on the edge of the devotional." - José Teodoro, Cinema Scope

"This film is amazingly odd and outrageous." - Javier Porta Fouz, La Nación

Citation
Main credits

Veiroj, Federico (screenwriter)
Veiroj, Federico (film director)
Ogalla, Álvaro (screenwriter)
Ogalla, Álvaro (actor)
Larralde, Marta (actor)

Other credits

Editing, Fernando Franco; cinematography, Arauco Hernández Holz.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
independence,family,family relations,personal narrative,religion,spirituality,organized religion,soul,spiritual beliefs,religious beliefs,belief systems,branches of religion,religious sects,sects,gods and goddesses,monotheism,theism,pantheism,polytheism,spiritual awakening,family,kin,fellowship,household,immediate family,extended family,multigenerational family,multigenerational household,kinfolk,family tree,genealogy,nuclear family,modern family,family tree,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies ,child,children,childhood,kid,girl,girlhood,boy,boyhood,teen,teenager,puberty,adolescence,adolescent,coming-of-age,minor,kiddo,kids,juvenile,stripling,moppet,tyke,tween,tot,toddler,sonny,girlie,underaged,dependent,youngster,infancy,babyhood,girlhood,boyhood,friendships,juvenescence,juvenility,springtime,early life,education,school,pedagogy,schooling,elementary education,secondary education,upper education,advanced education,education gap,learning,schooling,university,college,degrees,high school,middle school,junior high school,public school,private school,independent school,elementary school,schooling,school policy,educational equity,mental illness,therapy,trauma,behavioral health,mental disability,psychology,psychiatry,social work,wellbeing,counselor,diagnosis,mentally disabled,mental incapacitation,mentally defective,mental handicap,mental defective,psychotic break,psychosis,psychoses,mentally sound,questionable mental health; "The Apostate"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

Toronto International Film Festival; International Film Festival Rotterdam; Rotterdam; San Sebastián International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize, Special Mention; São Paulo International Film Festival

DIRECTOR: Frederico Veiroj

NATIONALITY: France, Uruguay

YEAR: 2014

GENRE: Drama, Fiction, Comedy

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School, College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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