Cowards (2008 film)

Cowards
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Cobardes
Directed by	José Corbacho Juan Cruz
Written by	José Corbacho Juan Cruz
Produced by	Tedy Villalba Julio Fernández
Starring	Eduardo Garé Eduardo Espinilla Elvira Mínguez Antonio de la Torre Lluís Homar Paz Padilla Frank Crudele Blanca Apilánez Ariadna Gaya Javier Bódalo Gorka Zubeldia Albert Baulies
Cinematography	David Omedes
Edited by	David Gallart
Music by	Pablo Sala
Production companies	Castelao Productions Antena 3 Films
Distributed by	Filmax
Release dates	5 April 2008 (2008-04-05) (Málaga) 25 April 2008 (2008-04-25) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

Cowards (Spanish: Cobardes) is a 2008 Spanish bullying-themed drama film written and directed by José Corbacho and Juan Cruz which stars Eduardo Garé and Eduardo Espinilla.

Plot

The plot takes place in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, following the plight of school bully Guille and his victim, redhead Gaby.^[1][2]

Cast

• Eduardo Espinilla as Guille^[3]
• Eduardo Garé as Gaby^[3]
• Ariadna Gaya [es] as Carla^[3]
• Antonio de la Torre as Joaquín^[3]
• Elvira Mínguez as Merche^[3]
• Lluís Homar as Guillermo^[2]
• Paz Padilla as Magda^[3]
• Blanca Apilánez [es] as tutora^[4]
• Frank Crudele [es] as Silverio^[2]
• Javier Bódalo [es] as Chape^[5]
• Gorka Zubeldia [eu] as Leo^[5]
• Albert Baulies as Jan^[5]

Production

The film is a Castelao Productions and Antena 3 Films production.^[6] Shooting locations included L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.^[7]

Release

The film was presented at the 11th Málaga Film Festival in April 2008.^[8] Distributed by Filmax,^[2] it was released theatrically in Spain on 25 April 2008.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of Variety deemed the film to be "a well-turned sophomore drama", even though "over-strident in its political correctness".^[2]

Javier Ocaña of El País considered that the helmers had moved from the "freshness, boldness and uniqueness" of their debut work to the "doctrine, discourse and academicism" of Cowards, underpinning "a coarse and inconsequential discourse".^[9]

Toni Vall [es] of Cinemanía rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, finding it "so stubborn in the cliché, in the formula, in the most well-known archetype".^[10]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2009	23rd Goya Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Elvira Mínguez	Nominated	[11]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2008

References

1. "Al salir de clase... el infierno". Metrópoli. 22 April 2008 – via El Mundo.
2. Holland, Jonathan (23 May 2008). "Cowards". Variety.
3. Checa Godoy 2016, p. 55.
4. Checa Godoy, Antonio (2016). "La España cotidiana de José Corbacho. De Tapas a Pelotas". Apuntes de cine: homenaje a Rafael Utrera. Madrid: Delta. Publicaciones Universitarias. p. 55. ISBN 978-84-16383-08-5.
5. "Cobardes". Retrieved 28 September 2023.
6. "Cobardes". premiosgoya.com. Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
7. "Corbacho y Cruz relatan los miedos de adolescentes y adultos en la película 'Cobardes'". Europa Press. 13 July 2007.
8. "José Corbacho presenta en Málaga ´Cobardes´, una cinta pesimista sobre el acoso escolar". Diario de Mallorca. Prensa Ibérica. 6 April 2008.
9. Ocaña, Javier (25 April 2008). "La pequeñez social". El País.
10. Vall, Toni (25 April 2008). "Cobardes". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
11. "Penélope Cruz guanya el Goya a la millor actriu de repartiment per 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'". 3/24. 2 February 2009 – via Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals.