Following a pivotal shift in the narrative, the film transitions from a aggressive thriller into a poignant study of female grief, resilience, and stubborn endurance. Olga becomes the central protagonist.
As Bestas opens with an almost documentary-like tranquility. We are introduced to Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs), a French couple who have moved to a remote, depopulated village in Galicia, Spain. They are idealists. They have restored a dilapidated stone house, planted organic crops, and are working to repurpose abandoned local land for renewable energy.
This shift is risky, but it pays off. It forces the audience to reckon with the consequences of the toxic masculinity displayed in the first half. It grounds the film in reality, showing that while men play their power games, women are often left to pick up the pieces and do the actual work of living.
Antoine and Olga represent the classic urban fantasy of returning to nature. They view the Galician countryside as a sanctuary to be preserved. To Xan and Lorenzo, however, the landscape is not a sanctuary—it is a prison. The film strips away any romanticism surrounding rural life, presenting it as harsh, isolating, and economically suffocating. as bestas rodrigo sorogoyen
The film centers on (played by Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs), a middle-aged French couple who move to a remote village in Galicia , Spain, to start an organic farm and rehabilitate abandoned stone cottages. Their peaceful vision is shattered by a conflict over a proposed wind farm project; while the impoverished locals want to sell their land to the developers for a payout, Antoine and Olga’s refusal blocks the deal.
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Without spoiling the film’s major plot points, As Bestas is structured to change perspective entirely, moving from the psychological thriller aspects of the first half to a somber, emotional story of endurance in the second. Following a pivotal shift in the narrative, the
He brings a quiet, intellectual resilience to the role, a man refusing to yield his idealism to fear.
"As Bestas" arrives at a time when Spanish cinema is experiencing a renaissance, with filmmakers like Sorogoyen, Carlos Simón, and Benito Zambrano pushing the boundaries of narrative storytelling. The film has drawn comparisons to the works of Spanish auteur Luis Buñuel, whose subversive, psychologically complex films continue to inspire generations of filmmakers.
For lovers of international cinema, psychological horror, or simply those who want to see what the best of modern Spanish filmmaking looks like, As Bestas is an unmissable, savage masterpiece. Do not watch it alone. Do not watch it in the dark. And never, ever turn your back on the land. We are introduced to Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and
"As Bestas" (The Beasts) is a Spanish-French thriller film written and directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. The movie stars Manolo Cardona, Antonio Velázquez, and María León.
Like the film's protagonists, the Dutch couple sought a sustainable, ecological lifestyle in harmony with nature. However, their progressive ideals clashed violently with the village’s sole remaining native family, the Rodríguez family. A multi-year dispute over communal land rights and logging profits escalated into a campaign of intimidation, culminating in Verfondern’s murder in 2010. His remains and vehicle were not discovered until 2014.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen has crafted a film that asks a terrifying question: If you strip away laws, police, and social media, what are you? The French idealist thinks he is a shepherd. The Galician farmer thinks he is a king. As Bestas suggests that, in the end, we are all just animals fighting over a carcass.
Sorogoyen is a master of pacing, and As Bestas functions as a slow-burn thriller that eventually explodes into visceral violence. Unlike standard Hollywood thrillers, the tension here is built not through action set pieces, but through uncomfortable silences, passive-aggressive interactions, and the crushing weight of the environment.
While the setting is specifically Galician, the conflict is universal. From the Yellow Vests in France to the coal miners in Appalachia, the world is witnessing a violent clash between post-industrial localism and globalized, post-materialist values.