ma ma

2015 1h 51m ES

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 164

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After finding a lump in one of her breasts, Magda goes to visit her doctor who gives her bad news: she needs a mastectomy, preceded by severe chemo treatments. While she ponders this ill fortune at a soccer game where her son Dani participates, she attracts the attention of talent scout Arturo, who is looking for talented young players to enroll them in the junior leagues.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Penélope Cruz
Magda
Luis Tosar
Arturo
Asier Etxeandia
Julián
Teo Planell
Dani
Silvia Abascal
Chemotherapy Nurse
Àlex Brendemühl
Raúl
Anna Jiménez
Natasha
Jon Kortajarena
Handsome Man #1

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Julio Medem
Writers: Julio Medem
Languages: Spanish
Countries: France, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Julio Medem, shot by Kiko de la Rica. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alberto Iglesias. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Julio Medem shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Penélope Cruz and Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3480886 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Julio Medem directs. Kiko de la Rica behind the camera. Alberto Iglesias scores. Julio Medem cuts. Produced in France, Spain. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: France, Spain.
3Directed by Julio Medem, shot by Kiko de la Rica. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alberto Iglesias. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Julio Medem shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Penélope Cruz and Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt3480886 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kiko de la Rica
Original score: Alberto Iglesias
Editing: Julio Medem
Production design: Montse Sanz
Costume design: Carlos Díez
Makeup / hair: Massimo Gattabrusi
VFX supervisor: Isidro Jiménez
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Status: Released
Original language: ES
Certification (US): R
IMDB: ma ma (2015)

Also by

Julio Medem

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-03-04
★ 7/10
“Magda” (Penélope Cruz) is separated from the father of their son “Dani” (Teo Planell) and has just lost her seasonal teaching job as she continues to juggle the responsibilities of parenting and living. Then a bombshell arrives in the form of breast cancer and her world is turned upside down. Fortunately, though, she encounters “Arturo” (Luis Tosar) at one of her son’s less successful football matches and it turns out he’s not only an interested scout, but is also facing cancer-related issues of his own. Gradually they bond and she has a mastectomy but despite the best efforts of her doctor (Asier Etxeandia) it metastasises and just as they celebrate her pregnancy, they have to face a prognosis that both they and the young “Dani” have to come to terms with. It’s the latter stages of the film that once again confirms Cruz as a versatile and emotive actor. She portrays a woman who, despite her own ghastly predicament, is determined that her young lad will continue to enjoy a loving and stable family life, that he will never feel jealous of the new arrival and given the now inevitable denouement, she carries that off without becoming sentimental or gloopy. Teo Planell also delivers strongly too and director Julio Medem resists any temptation to turn this into a melodrama, but rather lets three actors play this out in a poignant, sometimes also quite lightly comedic fashion. In the end, this topic has hit the screens often enough before, but there is something touching and real about this film that’s worth a watch.

Production companies