The Hanged Man (Spanish: El juego del ahorcado) is a 2009 Spanish-Irish thriller and romantic drama film directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira which stars Clara Lago and Álvaro Cervantes.
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Plot
Set in 1989 Girona, the fiction tracks the romance between two childhood friends (Sandra and Álvaro), as the teenage years deepen the pre-existing relationship into something closer.
Production
An adaptation of Imma Turbau's El juego del ahorcado, the screenplay was penned by Manuel Gómez Pereira and Salvador García Ruiz. A Spanish-Irish co-production, the film was produced by Amigo PC, Lenon Producciones, Ovideo TV, and Subotica Entertainment, and it had the participation of TVE and TVC. Shooting locations included Girona, Barcelona, and Ireland.
Release
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 30 January 2009.
Reception
Mirito Torreiro of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising the director's change of register, also writing that the film "draws a more than convincing portrait of young people devoured by sexual awakening and the desire for possession".
Jonathan Holland of Variety deemed the "flawed but intriguing" film to be "a quietly intense thriller that sees the helmer abandoning his comedies" "for something meatier".
David Bernal of Cinemanía rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a "flawed drama", also pointing out that, deep down, the authorship should be attributed to Salvador García Ruiz rather than to Gómez Pereira, as "everything in this provincial teenage romance narrated in fits and starts connects with [García Ruiz's] oppressive and intimate universe".