The Endless Trench

2019 2h 28m ES

👍

6.9

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 276🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 7,773

DramaHistoryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A small village in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain, 1936. Higinio and Rosa have been married only for a few months when the Civil War breaks out. Higinio, being afraid of possible reprisals from the rebel faction, decides to use a hole dug in his own house as a temporary hideout.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Antonio de la Torre
Higinio
Belén Cuesta
Rosa
Vicente Vergara
Gonzalo
José Manuel Poga
Rodrigo
Emilio Palacios
Jaime
Adrián Fernández
Young Jaime
Nacho Fortes
Enrique
Marco Cáceres
Juan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jose Mari Goenaga
Writers: Jose Mari Goenaga, Luiso Berdejo
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: Spain, France

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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Spain, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Jose Mari Goenaga, shot by Javier Agirre Erauso. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Antonio de la Torre and Belén Cuesta and Vicente Vergara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7937168 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jose Mari Goenaga directs. Javier Agirre Erauso behind the camera. Pascal Gaigne scores. Raúl López cuts. Produced in Spain, France. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3International production across 2 countries: Spain, France.
4Directed by Jose Mari Goenaga, shot by Javier Agirre Erauso. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Pascal Gaigne. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Raúl López shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Antonio de la Torre and Belén Cuesta and Vicente Vergara carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt7937168 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "countryside", "spanish civil war (1936-39)", "franco regime (francoism)".

The technical file

Cinematography: Javier Agirre Erauso
Original score: Pascal Gaigne
Editing: Raúl López
Production design: Pepe Domínguez del Olmo
Makeup / hair: Félix Terrero
VFX supervisor: David Heras
Sound: Xanti Salvador
Stunt coordinator: Gaizka Egilegor
Runtime: 148 min · 2h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: ES
Certification (US): 16
IMDB: The Endless Trench (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 73/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 7,773 votes
MPAA: TV-MA

Awards

21 wins & 45 nominations total

European Film Award for Best Hair and Makeup Artist
Goya Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jose Mari Goenaga

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-10-01
★ 7/10
When the Spanish Civil War finally ended, there were no signs of any amnesty from the Francoists towards their former Republican adversaries, and with no shortage of people prepared to settle old scores, life proves increasingly perilous for "Higinio" (Antonio de la Torre). He had fought on the losing side and had hoped to wait until the dust had settled a little before leaving their Andalusian home with wife "Rosa" (Belén Cuesta) and heading to somewhere safer. His neighbour "Gonzalo" (Vicente Vergara) has an axe to grind, though, and when he discovers that there's a bounty to be had too it means that "Higinio" is going to have to take drastic steps if he is to remain at liberty. Those steps actually don't deliver liberty so much as a more personal form of incarceration. He is forced behind the walls of his late father-in-law's home with his wife going through the daily motions of life as if he were dead, whilst living quite a full life with him behind closed doors. That results in a pregnancy that she cannot just explain away, so she has to visit her sister for a while and leave him alone to fend for himself - and that's when their hitherto simple arrangement starts to become compromised. Add to this complexity the return of "Rosa" and newborn "Jaime", and the conflict of WWII that encourages the family to hope against hope that it might destabilise Franco's regime, and we now have the template for a life that sees "Higinio" remain a prisoner in his own home with his increasingly idealistic son believing him an uncle and his suspicious and vengeful neighbour still convinced that he isn't dead, but living in secret. After almost three decades behind the plasterboard, is he destined to never step from his home in safety or might the new Juan-Carlist government offer him an eventual olive branch? De la Torre really does manage to imbue his role with elements of a really uncomfortable claustrophobia and his character's frustrations as his wife has to defend herself from accusations, interrogations and even some unwanted attentions is well captured by an actor who has little dialogue to support his really quite potent performance. It's Cuesta, though, who really steals the plaudits as her effort sees "Rosa" juggle plates throughout, especially as the inquisitive "Jaime" (Emilio Palacios) begins to rock the boat - however unintentionally. Though there are elements of joy here, and it does have some aspects of a peculiar love story to it, this is by no means a very cheery film - but that's what makes it a more convincing observation of what really happened to scores of Spaniards forced into this almost survivalist scenario across the country well past the end of the war. It takes it's time but that augments the story rather than strings it out, and if you're in the mood for something challenging and uncomfortbale to watch, then this is well worth 2½ hours.

Production companies