Tesis (1996)

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (screenplay)
Alejandro Amenábar (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Film School | Asthmatic | Walkman | Sony Video Camera

Awards:

14 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Ana Torrent	...	Ángela
Fele Martínez	...	Chema
Eduardo Noriega	...	Bosco
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
José Luis Cuerda	...	Profesor 1º
Emiliano Otegui	...	Profesor 2º
Walter Prieto	...	Vigilante Tren
Florentino Sainz	...	Anciano
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Helena Castañeda	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Alejandro Amenábar

Writing credits
Alejandro Amenábar		(screenplay)
Alejandro Amenábar		(story) &
Mateo Gil		(story)

Produced by
Alejandro Amenábar	....	associate producer
Hans Burman	....	associate producer (as Hans Burmann)
Wolfgang Burmann	....	associate producer
José Luis Cuerda	....	executive producer
José Luis Cuerda	....	producer
Julio Madurga	....	associate producer
Emiliano Otegui	....	executive producer
María Elena Sáinz de Rozas	....	associate producer
Ricardo Steinberg	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Alejandro Amenábar
Mariano Marín

Cinematography by
Hans Burman

Film Editing by
María Elena Sáinz de Rozas

Production Design by
Wolfgang Burmann

Costume Design by
Ana Cuerda

Makeup Department
Elisabeth Adánez	....	assistant makeup artist
Paca Almenara	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Emiliano Otegui	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mateo Gil	....	assistant director
Raúl Otegui	....	second assistant director
Walter Prieto	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Sergio Bürmann	....	boom operator (as Sergio Burmann)
Manuel Corrales	....	sound effects
Pelayo Gutiérrez	....	sound editor
Alfonso Pino	....	sound mixer
Nacho Royo	....	sound effects editor
Ricardo Steinberg	....	sound (as Goldstein & Steinberg)

Special Effects by
Reyes Abades	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Pablo Bürmann	....	assistant camera (as Pablo Burmann)
Wolfgang Burmann	....	assistant camera
Juan Carrión	....	gaffer
Pablo Carrión	....	electrician
Mateo Gil	....	video operator
Pedro López	....	electrician
Catalina Madurga	....	video assist operator
Julio Madurga	....	second assistant camera
Matías Nieto	....	still photographer
Francisco Ramos	....	key grip
José Sacristán	....	electrician

Editorial Department
Natalia Sáinz de Rozas	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Mariano Marín	....	orchestrator
Javier Vacas	....	music mixer

Other crew
Jesús Alonso	....	production assistant
José Miguel Mendiola	....	financial controller
María Teresa Payero	....	production secretary

Thanks
Emma Penella	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Las Producciones del Escorpión S.L.
• Sogepaq

Distributors

• Bir Film (2003) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1997) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Three Lines Pictures (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Betta Entertainment (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Cinemagia (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• New Yorker Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• New Yorker Video (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Quality Films (2006) (Mexico) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (????) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• Tanelorn Films (USA) (DVD)
• Tanelorn Films (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (uncut)
• Vanguard International Cinema (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Thesis (UK) (festival title) (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:18 (video premiere) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Las Producciones del Escorpión S.L.

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: When Professor Catro is shot, blood splatters onto Chema's face and drips down; in the following shot, there is no blood visible.

Quotes:

Ángela Márquez: My name is Angela. They're going to kill me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Muchachada nui: (#3.11)" (2009)

If it were in English, it would have made millions

Tesis is one of the finest Spanish films of the last 10 years. God help us if Tom Cruise remakes this first Amenabar gem as he has Abre los ojos> Vanilla Sky coming soon, blech! Using the iconic gaze of Ana Torrent--see her at 6 in Spirit of the Beehive or at 10 in Cria!-- Amenabar makes an obvious but still gripping statement about modern society's facination with violence in the media. Using phenomenal tracking shots, cross-referenced pov and suspenseful tension to maximum effect, he and his cast convert what could have been a hack DePalma style Hitchcock ripoff into art. An awareness of contemporary Spain certainly helps, as much that we Americans consider passe was fairly new over there at the time (not in 2001, alas.) Fele Martinez at his best, too.