AllMovie

Writer and director Carlos Saura here dramatizes the downward slide of four young people who started out with many strikes against them. Their maladjustment to poverty and the broken homes of their childhood results in stealing and serious crime as a way of life. As their dangerous exploits unfold, one of the young men falls in love with the lone female of the four. They take this as it is, without their romance having any effect on their lifestyle. Eventually, all four hit a bad scene when a robbery goes wrong. One is killed, the boyfriend is fatally wounded, and the remaining youth is put in jail. Suddenly, the young woman finds herself alone, with no friends and no support. Saura may be making a broader commentary on the ills of Spanish society here, especially since his earlier films had significant symbolic overtones. This drama won the Golden Bear award as "Best Movie" in the 1981 Berlin Film Festival.