Romeria, my first foray into Spanish cinema

A little bit of background📃

I've written in other film posts about my penchant to frequent international film festivals with my friend, MH, held throughout the year across Australia by the Palace Cinema group. Romeria is directed by one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in modern Spanish cinema. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and it won Best New Performer at the 2026 Gaudi Awards. This post explores my thoughts on my first foray into Spanish cinema.

Romeria | Australian release June 2026 | Viewed 4 July 2026 | Directed by Carla Simon | Main cast: Llucia Garcia and Mitch Robles

The story📖

Romeria is a past and present story. The present story is set in 2004, where 18-year-old Marina arrives in Vigo on Spain's Atlantic Coast to meet her grandparents for the first time. She is seeking their signature on a scholarship application document. Marina was raised by her mother's sister and she barely knows her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and her cousins. Marina's story is one of awkwardness as she is confronted by her family and her parents' lives and deaths, told in the past part of the film.

My thoughts on the film💭

I had quite high expectations of Romeria as it sounded like my kind of thing - a film based on a true story of a young woman reconnecting with her past through fragmented family memories scarred by drug use and AIDS. I came away from the cinema feeling exceptionally flat, so the film was quite a disappointment to me.

The film is a slow burn which I don't normally mind, but there was no depth to it at all. There are a lot of uncomfortable moments between Marina (whom I assume is filmmaker, Carla Simon) and her family, but there is little dialogue to help the viewer understand the family tensions. There is intense scrutiny of Marina's every movement and facial expression without telling the viewer anything. This became quite frustrating, especially as there was no real drama or climactic moment to the story. I also found all the family members hard to keep track of as nothing about them is really explained.

The story of Marina's parents' relationship, drug use, and eventual deaths is a more interesting part of the film. However, the actors who play Marina and one of her cousins also play Marina's parents. I understand this was a deliberate choice by Carla Simon to throw the family off kilter and stir up old resentments, realising the strong resemblance of Marina to her mother. It's just confusing to the viewer, I think.

And while the viewer is eventually let in on the secret of Marina's parents drug-fuelled lives and deaths, there is no resolution or closure to the fractured family relationship. Spoiler alert...Marina does not end up reclaimed by her lost family nor is her identity reshaped by the contact she has with them. This is no doubt authentic - and I assume based on Carla Simon's experiences - but it has the effect of making the film feel flat and emotionally distant. All the drug-taking was pretty wild, but it didn't actually say much about Marina's parents as people, nor did it provide any really insight into addiction.

In sum📝

There is a raw, authentic vibe to Romeria that has the makings of a beautiful film, but I found absolutely no emotional connection to it and struggled to care about what happened. The film feels like a missed opportunity to explore erased histories and inherited shame around addiction and illness. The best part of the film is the stunning Galician scenery.

Rating: ⭐⭐