# Outlaws (2021 film)

Outlaws or The Laws of the Border (Spanish: Las leyes de la frontera) is a 2021 Spanish film directed by Daniel Monzón adapting the novel of the same name by Javier Cercas. It stars Marcos Ruiz, Begoña Vargas and Chechu Salgado.

## Premise

Set in the Summer of 1978, the fiction follows Nacho, a 17-year old student living in Girona who befriends Zarco and Tere, two young criminals.
It has been presented as a revisitation of the quinqui film genre.

## Cast

* Marcos Ruiz [es] as Ignacio "Nacho" Cañas
* Begoña Vargas as Tere
* Chechu Salgado as Zarco
* Carlos Oviedo as Guille
* Xavier Martín as Gordo
* Daniel Ibáñez as Piernas
* Jorge Aparicio as Chino
* Víctor Manuel Pajares as Drácula
* Cintia García as Lina
* Santiago Molero [es] as Ignacio
* Carlos Serrano [es] as Cuenca
* Xavi Sáez as Hidalgo
* Paula Romeu Garcia as Delphine
* Ainhoa Santamaría as Rosa
* Elisabet Casanovas as Cristina
* Javier Beltrán
* Pep Tosar [ca] as Vives
* Catalina Sopelana as Paqui
* Pep Cruz [ca] as Señor Tomás
* Estefanía de los Santos as Merche

## Production

Penned by Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the screenplay is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Javier Cercas.
Produced by Ikiru Films, La Terraza Films and Atresmedia Cine in collaboration with Buendía Estudios [es] and Las leyes de la frontera AIE, the film received funding from the ICAA. Netflix secured the international rights. It has a reported budget of 7 million €. Directed by Daniel Monzón, shooting lasted for 10 weeks and wrapped in November 2020. Shooting locations included Girona, Manresa, Montblanc and Costa del Garraf [es]. Balter Gallart worked as art director and Carles Gusi as director of cinematography.

## Release

The film premiered on 25 September 2021 at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival, bringing the festival to a closure.
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures España, it was theatrically released in Spain on 8 October 2021.
The film was set for a 22 November 2021 streaming release on Netflix, using the English-language title Outlaws.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.
Fausto Fernández of Fotogramas gave the film 4 out 5 stars, positively highlighting the triangle formed by the characters Nacho, Tere and Zarco.
Philipp Engel of Cinemanía gave it 3½ out of 5 stars. He wrote that the Begoña Vargas' lead performance ends up eating those from the two male lead performers'. He considered that the atmosphere "halfway" works.
Josu Eguren of El Correo gave the film 2 out of 3 stars. He considered the film to be "stimulating reflection on the gap between memory and nostalgia" so pervasive in the Spanish contemporary historical discourse but ultimately dominated by "cheating digressive monologues transformed into images".
Federico Marín Bellón of ABC gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, considering it to be "a magnificent portrait, a new and stylized look" of the era already extensively portrayed by the quinqui genre.

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actor (film) | Chechu Salgado | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Trailer | Miguel Ángel Sanantonio | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Supporting Actor | Chechu Salgado | Nominated |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best New Actor | Chechu Salgado | Won |
| 2022 | 77th CEC Medals | Best Adapted Screenplay | Jorge Guerricaechevarría, Daniel Monzón | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Daniel Monzón, Jorge Guerricaechevarría | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Original Song | "Las leyes de la Frontera" by Alejandro García Rodríguez, Antonio Molinero León, Daniel Escortell Blandino, José Manuel Cabrera Escot, Miguel García Cantero | Nominated |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best New Actor | Chechu Salgado | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Sarai Rodríguez, Benjamín Pérez, Nacho Díaz | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Art Direction | Balter Gallart | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Costume Design | Vinyet Escobar | Won |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Director | Daniel Monzón | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Actress | Begoña Vargas | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Actor | Chechu Salgado | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Production Supervision | Goretti Pagès | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Art Direction | Balter Gallar | Won |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Editing | Mapa Pastor | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Original Music | Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Cinematography | Carles Gusi | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Costume Design | Vinyet Escobar | Won |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Sound | Isaac Bonfill, Oriol Tarragó, Marc Orts | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Visual Effects | Raúl Romanillos, Míriam Piquer | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Sarai Rodríguez, Nacho Díaz, Benjamín Pérez | Won |
| 2022 | 14th Gaudí Awards | Public's Choice Award for Best Film | Public's Choice Award for Best Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best New Actress | Begoña Vargas | Nominated |
| 2022 | Spanish Screenwriters' Union Awards | Best Screenplay in a Drama Feature Film | Jorge Guerricaechevarría, Daniel Monzón | Nominated |