El Planeta

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El Planeta

2021

1h 19m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

95%

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40 Reviews

44%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Amidst the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.

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Critics Consensus

El Planeta taps into real-life economic anxiety to present a darkly humorous glimpse of life spent teetering on the edge of financial ruin.

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Thomas Flew

Sight & Sound

Dec 4, 2021

Amalia Ulman's aesthetic (both in terms of fashion and filmmaking) is enough to make this an intriguing first feature.

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Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

Nov 14, 2021

2.5/4

"El Planeta" has much humor, but the laughter tends to lurk around the edges. The movie also has a fair amount of pathos.

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Josh Kupecki

Austin Chronicle

Oct 28, 2021

3.5/5

El Planeta orbits around an aesthetic and sensibility rooted in Eighties indie films. But mother and daughter have a comfortable chemistry that surpasses the deadpan material.

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Caitlin Quinlan

The Brooklyn Rail

Apr 30, 2026

The protagonists and their home city are well paired. But there is something incredibly enjoyable about watching Ulman’s film, with its idiosyncrasies and unflinching, often silly, humor.

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

Nov 29, 2022

Beyond the very lived-in central relationship, Planeta’s very funny both in dialogue and rhythms.

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Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

Nov 2, 2022

El Planeta is an accumulation of daily vignettes about a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship, with eccentric characters, but through a loving gaze and a certain empathy behind the pathos. [Full review in Spanish]

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Alain E

@AlainE Sep 1, 2026

An interesting allegory of a mother and a daughter who try to pretend that everything is fine as they face financial ruin. Very good black and white cinematography.

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Dennui S

@dennui Jul 29, 2025

Reminded me of an Aki Kaurismaki or Jim Jarmusch film. Very indie.

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dave d

@RT34924333 Feb 17, 2022

Amalia Ulman wrote, produced, and directed 'El Planeta, which stars herself and her mother in the latter's debut performance on the silver screen. The film is set in Spain and is mostly in Spanish. I hated this. It's pretentious and I found zero reason to root for anyone. It is very artsy and minimalist and is stretched to 81 minutes and felt like it was over two hours. The idea of staying in the middle without a clear point of view makes the picture feel bleak. If that's the idea, then bully for Ulman. I wish she gets more hopeful for her next feature and maybe she can have something to say that isn't blah. Final Score: 2/10

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Amalia Ulman

Director

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María Rendueles

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Synopsis

Amidst the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.

Director: Amalia Ulman
Producer: Kathleen Heffernan, Kweku Mandela, Amalia Ulman
Screenwriter: Amalia Ulman
Distributor: Utopia
Production Co: Memory, Operator Media, Holga's Meow
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2021, Limited
Runtime: 1h 19m

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