A tender, unsparing drama about late-life queer identity, family rupture, and the uneasy freedom of being seen again. It sounds especially affecting if you like character-first European cinema that balances social realism with emotional restraint.
Maspalomas
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Drama
Fri · 1h 55m
Director: Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga
Starring: José Ramón Soroiz, Nagore Aranburu, Kandido Uranga
Overview
After breaking up with his partner, 76 year-old Vicente leads life the way he likes it in Maspalomas: he spends his days lying in the sun, partying, and looking for pleasure. An unexpected accident obliges him to return to San Sebastián and to the daughter he abandoned years ago. Vicente will have to live in a retirement home where he finds himself driven back into the closet and to conceal a part of himself that he thought was long resolved. In this new environment, Vicente must ask himself if he has enough time left to make his peace with others… and with himself.
Director
Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga
Cast
José Ramón Soroiz, Nagore Aranburu, Kandido Uranga
Curator Review
Verdict
A tender, unsparing drama about late-life queer identity, family rupture, and the uneasy freedom of being seen again. It sounds especially affecting if you like character-first European cinema that balances social realism with emotional restraint.
Best for
viewers interested in queer stories about older adults
fans of intimate European family dramas
audiences who appreciate restrained, humane performances
people drawn to stories about reconciliation and self-acceptance
Skip if
you want a lighter or more openly comedic take on queer life
you are uncomfortable with frank sexual material and cruising culture
you prefer plot-heavy dramas with lots of external action
you want a feel-good redemption story with easy answers
Overview
Maspalomas looks like a quietly devastating return-to-self drama, built around a man who has spent a lifetime learning how to hide and now has to relearn how to live honestly. The premise gives it a strong emotional engine: a sunlit, pleasure-seeking opening gives way to the colder, more coercive realities of age, family, and institutional life. That contrast should make the film feel both intimate and politically pointed.
Worth noting
What stands out most is the film’s focus on queer life beyond youth, when identity is no longer about discovery alone but about survival, memory, and the cost of compromise. The popular response suggests a film that is honest about sex, age, and the social codes around gay spaces, while also being careful and empathetic with its central character. That combination can be bracing, and for the right viewer, deeply moving.
Bottom line
This is likely to land best with viewers who value restraint over melodrama and who are open to a story that refuses to sanitize either desire or regret. If you like dramas that use a single character’s journey to expose broader social pressures, Maspalomas should be well worth your time.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Randy Meeks (4★) · 1117 likes
Ni una puta paloma en toda la película.
maría :) (4★) · 680 likes
llorar por un facha no estaba en mi bingo card
Pedro (4.5★) · 641 likes
Cualquiera que haya estado alguna vez en los espacios que salen al principio de la película (ya sea en Maspalomas o en Sitges, Barcelona o Torremolinos) ha visto a personas como Vicente, y muchas veces, instintivamente, nos lleva a pensar: que c*ño hará este señor aquí?. Pues aquí tenemos la historia de esas personas. Creo que la película es muy honesta al mostrar el sexo sin tabúes, elegante en cómo esta rodada, terrorífica cuando nos enseña la homogeneidad a la