In the contemporary landscape of European cinema, few films have landed with the visceral, gut-punching force of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s 2022 masterpiece, As Bestas (The Beasts). Released to thunderous acclaim—sweeping the Goya Awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay—the film transcends the typical boundaries of the thriller genre. It is not merely a story about a murder; it is a suffocating study of territoriality, xenophobia, and the thin veneer of civilization that separates man from animal.
The film's use of hunting as a metaphor for the human condition is particularly striking. As the characters stalk their prey, they are, in effect, stalking their own darker selves, confronting the beasts within. This struggle is echoed in the film's score, composed by Julio de la Rosa, which seamlessly blends diegetic and non-diegetic sound to create an unnerving sense of unease. as bestas rodrigo sorogoyen
The primary catalyst for the feud is a . The French couple refuses to sell their land to the renewable energy developers, blocking a significant financial payout for the impoverished locals who see the wind farm as their only ticket out of a life of grueling toil. 2. The Real-Life Inspiration Renewable energies in the Spanish rural landscape In the contemporary landscape of European cinema, few
They did not run. They walked back up the hill, into the mist, into the waiting dark of A Besta . Because a beast does not flee its own shadow. The film's use of hunting as a metaphor
It doesn't hold your hand. It presents a conflict that feels ripped from the headlines of rural Europe and asks difficult questions about gentrification, isolation, and what happens when two worlds refuse to understand one another.
Spoiler Warning: This section discusses the film's structural shift.