# Smoke & Mirrors (2016 film)

Smoke & Mirrors (Spanish: El hombre de las mil caras) is a 2016 Spanish thriller film directed by Alberto Rodríguez based on the 2006 non-fiction book Paesa, el espía de las mil caras by Manuel Cerdán. The film stars Eduard Fernández as Francisco Paesa, a former agent of the Spanish secret service who faked his own death after an infamous corruption scandal.

## Plot

Francisco Paesa — an ex-secret agent for the Spanish government who was instrumental in the most important operation against the Basque terrorist group ETA — is framed by his own government and forced to leave the country. When he is finally able to return to Spain, he is broke and his personal life is falling apart. It is then he receives a visit from Luis Roldán, the powerful former Commissioner of Police who offers him one million dollars for help with safeguarding twelve million dollars embezzled by Roldán from the police budget. Paesa plans revenge in order to seize Roldán’s money, fooling an entire country in a brilliant and intricate operation worthy of the best illusionist.

## Cast

* Eduard Fernández as Francisco Paesa
* José Coronado as Jesús Camoes
* Marta Etura as Nieves Fernández Puerto
* Carlos Santos as Luis Roldán
* Enric Benavent [es] as Casturelli
* Alba Galocha [gl] as Beatriz
* Philippe Rebbot as Jean-Pierre Pinaud
* Pedro Casablanc as Abogado de Paesa
* Israel Elejalde as González
* Tomás del Estal [es] as Bermejo
* Jons Pappila as Arlauckas
* Luis Callejo as Juan Alberto Belloch
* Mireia Portas [es] as Gloria
* Craig Stevenson as Georges Starckman
* Emilio Gutiérrez Caba as Osorno
* Christian Stamm as Hans
* Ramón Rados as Rafael Vera [es]
* Agustín Galiana [es] as Tipo Filatelia

## Release

The film premiered at the 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actor for Eduard Fernández. It was also screened at the 2016 London Film Festival. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it was released theatrically in Spain on 23 September 2016.

## Reception

Fausto Fernández of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, singling out "the precision with which it is narrated and executed" as its hallmark.
Carlos Marañón of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, assessing that "Rodriguez takes [the] Spanish political thriller [genre] to another level".
Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter deemed the film to be "quick-thinking, showy, ambitious and stylish in its manipulations; but also, for most of the duration, it's as soulless as a briefcase full of used banknotes".
Guy Lodge of Variety billed the film as a "slick-as-Brylcreem political thriller".
Lee Marshall of ScreenDaily underscored that "this overlong, over-detailed story never seems entirely sure what it's trying to say".

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2016 | 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Golden Shell for Best Film | Golden Shell for Best Film | Nominated |
| 2016 | 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Silver Shell for Best Actor | Eduard Fernández | Won |
| 2017 | 22nd Forqué Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Forqué Awards | Best Actor | Eduard Fernández | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Drama Film | Best Drama Film | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Director | Alberto Rodríguez | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Screenplay | Alberto Rodríguez, Rafael Cobos | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actor in a Film | Eduard Fernández | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Film | Carlos Santos | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Film | José Coronado | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Marta Etura | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Original Soundtrack | Julio de la Rosa | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Trailer | Best Trailer | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Film Poster | Best Film Poster | Won |
| 2017 | 9th Gaudí Awards | Best Actor | Eduard Fernández | Won |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Director | Alberto Rodríguez | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Actor | Eduard Fernández | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best New Actor | Carlos Santos | Won |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Alberto Rodríguez, Rafael Cobos | Won |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Editing | José M.G. Moyano | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Art Direction | Pepe Domínguez del Olmo | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Production Supervision | Manuela Ocón | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Sound | Daniel de Zayas, César Molina, José Antonio Manovel | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Yolanda Piña | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Julio de la Rosa | Nominated |
| 2017 | 26th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role | Carlos Santos | Won |
| 2017 | 4th Platino Awards | Best Ibero-American Film | Best Ibero-American Film | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Platino Awards | Best Screenplay | Alberto Rodríguez, Rafael Cobos | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Platino Awards | Best Actor | Eduard Fernández | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Platino Awards | Best Sound | Daniel de Zayas, César Molina, José Antonio Manovel | Nominated |