20 Centimeters

Running time: 113 mins

Showing a stylistic bravura and confidence rare among upcoming Spanish helmers, Ramon Salazar's 20 Centimeters is a vastly entertaining sophomore effort that fuses a wide range of influences. Hollywood musicals, neo-realism and early-Almodovarian kitsch "into a distinctive, giddy whole." 
-- Variety

A 20 centimeter problem can be referring to lots of things, but for a male-to-female trans-gendered person, it can be only one. Marieta yearns to take the final step with a sex change operation, but to earn the money for it, she hustles all night, despite her problematic narcolepsy. When spells of sleep overtake her, Marieta dreams of being penis-free while dancing to elaborately entrancing musical numbers, in which she is the star. During the day, she takes care of the home, while also looking for a job to make ends meet. 

In the vein of Almodóvar's Bad Education, 20 Centimeters is as shocking as it is touching. It is raw with emotion despite its underlying comical tone, and the dance numbers in which actress Mónica Cervera shines as Marieta are superb. 20 Centimeters will not fail to stir the emotions of its viewers; it is an honest and captivating film portraying the trans-gendered characters as human beings and not fodder for bad jokes.

-- Rosalina González

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