Afternoons of Solitude

2025 2h 6m ES

👍

6.9

SOLID

🍅

89%

FRESH

★6.9TMDB · 66🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The life of the bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey during a day of bullfighting, from the moment he dresses up to the moment he undresses.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Andrés Roca Rey
Self
Roberto Domínguez
Self
Francisco Manuel "Viruta" Durán
Self
Antonio Chacón
Self
Paco Gómez
Self
Manuel "Larita" Lara
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Albert Serra
Writers: Albert Serra
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Spain, Portugal, 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 last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Spain, Portugal, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Albert Serra, shot by Artur Tort. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andrés Roca Rey and Roberto Domínguez and Francisco Manuel "Viruta" Durán carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt26245982 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 66 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Albert Serra directs. Artur Tort behind the camera. Marc Verdaguer scores. Artur Tort cuts. Produced in Spain, Portugal, France. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2International production across 3 countries: Spain, Portugal, France.
3Directed by Albert Serra, shot by Artur Tort. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Marc Verdaguer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Artur Tort shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Andrés Roca Rey and Roberto Domínguez and Francisco Manuel "Viruta" Durán carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt26245982 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 66 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "matador (bullfighter)", "behind the scenes", "performance art", "live performance".

The technical file

Cinematography: Artur Tort
Original score: Marc Verdaguer
Editing: Artur Tort
Costume design: Pau Aulí
Makeup / hair: Emilio Alonso García
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Status: Released
Original language: ES
IMDB: Afternoons of Solitude (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh

Awards

3 wins

Gaudí Award for Best Documentary

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

Also by

Albert Serra

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Chandler Danier2025-12-26
★ 7/10
Very beautiful. Long, glorious shots. Males acting like roosters because roosters are cool and have sharp things. Or some reason they don't go in to here. Aside from the flag sword guy, there’s the spear sticking male too. He doesn't get to act like a rooster. More of a guy. It’s a crazy sport. Lots of opportunity for tension. I feel this is something to have on repeat in some corner of the room to be reminded how much shit this guy wears or how violent bull fighting is.
CinemaSerf2026-06-09
★ 7/10
Now this is certainly not a film for the squeamish, so be warned - it spares the viewer little of the violence of bullfighting. That's not it's aim, though, as it follows some days in the life of acclaimed matador Andrés Roca Rey. He is an handsome and confident young man who brings something distinctly theatrical to his displays in the ring against bulls who are no more inclined to give him quarter than he them. Now fair fights these are not and the chances of the bull competing against a team of men who distract, exhaust and ultimately destroy it don't look especially high, but Rey is frequently on the wrong end of the butts and even the horns and the intimate photography illustrates something of those dangers too. What I found to be most bizarre from a series of scenarios to which that word could readily apply, was the attitudes of the crowds. They appreciate the finery of the intricate costumes, the artistry that borders on the dancing and then contrast those with the baying sounds that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the Roman Collisseum two millennia earlier. He is adored, celebrated and successful but what I saw from the (over-used) dash-cam coverage as he moves from fight to fight was a man who had little else in his life behind this conveyor belt style of existence. There are plenty of behind the scenes looks with his team, his doctors and of the trappings of success but in the end I couldn't help but think his was an empty life that offered very little that wasn't performance-related and was, thereby, quite a fickle dalliance with fame. It is too long, and at times borders on the repetitious, but it's still quite a fascinating look at a sport that has survived the tests of time despite it's obvious cruelty and brutality.