Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The film tells the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, two women in 1901 Spain who fell deeply in love. To overcome societal and legal barriers to their relationship, Elisa assumes a male identity, enabling the pair to marry in secret. Their daring act makes them the first recorded same-sex couple to marry in Spain, but their love is tested as they face relentless persecution and sacrifice.
Isabel Coixet's black-and-white period drama is visually striking—the high-contrast monochrome cinematography is its clearest strength, lending the true story a timeless, almost mythic quality. The plot is compelling in premise (a genuine historical first for same-sex marriage in Spain) but the narrative pacing is uneven, occasionally losing dramatic momentum across its runtime. The two leads deliver committed performances that carry emotional weight, though supporting characters feel underdeveloped. Novelty is moderate: the subject matter is historically significant and the stylistic choice of black-and-white is distinctive, but the film largely follows familiar period-romance and persecution-drama conventions. The ending, which depicts the couple's dispiriting flight into exile and separation, feels abrupt and emotionally unsatisfying rather than powerfully tragic, leaving the audience without adequate closure on their fates.