A film within a film and a deeply searching, masterfully told story of an actor's disappearance that pays tribute to the history of film as an art form.
1947. A famous Spanish actor, Julio Arenas, disappears while shooting a film. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he's been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance is brought back into the spotlight by a TV programme outlining his life, and death, and showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, Miguel Garay. This reignites Miguel's search for closure, for which he'll bring along Ana, Julio's daughter. He seeks out his, and also Julio's, old flame Lola; and then there's his trusty cinephile friend Max, who knows all there ever was to know about old prints, projection machines, and Carl Theodore Dreyer miracles.
"My impression is that, beyond the details of its plot, the story the film wants to portray to the audience revolves around two, intimately connected themes: identity and memory. The memory of two friends, who, once upon a time, were an actor and a movie director. Over time, one has lost his memory completely, to the point that he doesn't know who he is, or who he was; the other is doing his best to forget, but despite hiding himself away, he finds that the past and its pain still haunt him." (Victor Erice)