‘The Good Daughter’ review: Impressive, balanced Spanish drama gives child’s eye view of domestic violence

Dir: Júlia De Paz. Spain. 2025. 103mins

As if navigating the rocky terrain of her early teenagers wasn’t powerful sufficient, Carmela (Kiara Arancibia Pinto) additionally has to come back to phrases together with her mother and father’ acrimonious divorce. It is a separation that comes with a restraining order towards her father and a tightly regulated system of supervised visits – however Carmela idolises her artist dad (Julián Villagran). The spectacular and emotionally textured second function from Júlia De Paz, The Good Daughter gives a toddler’s advanced, conflicted perspective on the aftermath of home violence.

 An assured and sensitively dealt with work

De Paz (a former Display Spanish Star Of Tomorrow) has tailored each of her function movies so far from acclaimed brief movies. Her Goya-nominated 2021 debut, Ama, a couple of single mom who finds herself homeless, was based mostly on a 2019 wanting the identical title, whereas The Good Daughter, which premieres in Tallinn, is tailored from the multi-award-winning brief movie Harta (2021). De Paz’s profile was additional raised by a co-writer credit score on the collection Querer, which gained the Grand Prix at Sequence Mania. This image affirms that she is a expertise of notice: it’s an assured and sensitively dealt with work, which showcases De Paz’s nuanced writing and ability in working with younger actors. 

Tales about home violence are certainly not unusual, however the overwhelming majority of them are instructed from the perspective of the main sufferer of the violence – nearly at all times the spouse. Like Xavier Legrand’s Custody, The Good Daughter  appears to be like at ’vicarious violence’ – the abuse, psychological or in any other case, that may be meted out to youngsters as soon as the most important goal of violence – the partner – is out of attain. And it acknowledges that even the most persistent of abusers and narcissists may also exert appreciable attraction. 

That is actually the case with Carmela’s father. He envelops her in his full-wattage charisma, simply so long as she stays in his favour. A part of her would like to stay in his bohemian bungalow with its pool in Sant Cugat, Catalonia, moderately than the cramped condo that she shares together with her mom Marta (Janet Novás) and grandmother (Petra Martinez). Initially, Carmela will do something to stay basking in the heat of his approval – even asking him to buzz-cut her shoulder-length black curls to match his brief crop. He obliges, clearly relishing the information that it’ll upset her mom. In his thoughts, it’s his daughter’s present of allegiance to him.

Allegiance, for a person like this, is all the pieces, and the story is rooted in energy disparities. The father is profitable and celebrated; he has the cash to make his daughter’s life extra comfy, ought to he want to. However he may also punish her. And when Carmela goes towards his needs, he makes his displeasure identified, cold-shouldering her and then, as they play-fight in the pool collectively, utilizing slightly bit extra drive and aggression than is critical. It’s the type of factor that might be written off as a innocent overstep. However Carmela’s response, the concern that clouds her face, makes it clear that there was nothing innocent about it. 

The intimate cinematography by Sandra Roca tunes into the rising stress and alienation in Carmela, and a very good efficiency from newcomer Pinto. Shut-ups on her face seize the play of conflicting feelings; wider pictures present her alone and disconnected, even when she is surrounded by her associates.

What’s significantly astute in De Paz’s strategy is her understanding that silences might be infinitely extra highly effective than phrases. At moments of stress, Carmela shuts down and her eyes do her speaking. A scene together with her ‘bestie’, who gives sympathy and talks about her personal mother and father’ divorce, is all the extra highly effective for the glimpse that Carmela lastly reveals into her life. “It’s simply that my mother and father didn’t solely argue…” She says it quietly after which modifications the topic. However the phrases weigh closely, and voicing them lightens the load slightly.