Vulcania is a 2015 dystopian drama film directed by José Skaf from a screenplay by Diego Soto which stars Miquel Fernández and Aura Garrido alongside Ginés García Millán, José Sacristán, Ana Wagener, Silvia Abril, Jaime Olías, and Rubén Ochandiano. It is a Spanish-French-Swedish international co-production.
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Plot
A dystopian drama set in an isolated community split in two sides working in a foundry, the plot follows Jonás and Marta, who begin to question themselves about their small universe.
Production
The film is a Spanish-Swedish-French co-production by Zentropa Spain, Zentropa Sweden, and Ran Entertainment. It was shot in Spanish. Shooting locations in Catalonia included Tàrrega, Vall Fosca, and Lleida.
Release
The film premiered at the 48th Sitges Film Festival in October 2015. Distributed by Alfa Pictures, it was released theatrically in Spain on 4 March 2016.
Reception
Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter billed the film as a "low-budget dystopian tale" "stronger on atmospherics than on story", underlining as the bottom line "strong ideas and cast meet weak characters".
Paula Arantzazu Ruiz of Cinemanía rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, welcoming how the film distances itself by means its portrayal of claustrophobic oppression from the messianic tone of recent dystopian fictions catering to a teen audience.
Ricardo Aldarondo of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, drawing out "the use of dystopia to talk about everyday things" as the best thing about the film, while negatively citing the "lack of resources to be more ambitious".