The Coffee Table
| The Coffee Table | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Spanish | La mesita del comedor |
| Directed by | Caye Casas |
| Starring |
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Production companies |
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Release date |
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| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
The Coffee Table (Spanish: La mesita del comedor, lit. 'The dining room's small table') is a 2022 Spanish black comedy[1] film directed by Caye Casas which stars David Pareja and Estefanía de los Santos.
Plot[edit]
María and Jesús Casas visit a furniture store with their newborn baby Cayetanín in the hopes of buying a coffee table. The salesman, also named Cayetano, offers them an expensive but supposedly high quality coffee table which María refuses to buy, claiming that Cayetano's promise of unbreakable glass is false, and leaves with Cayetanín. Jesús is convinced by the salesman to buy the table.
As Jesús builds the coffee table in their apartment, he is visited by their next-door neighbor, a teenager named Ruth who continuously threatens to frame Jesús for pedophilia as he rebuffs her advances. Jesús notices a screw is missing from the table and calls Cayetano to ask for another screw; in the meantime, he places the glass pane right-side-up. María leaves to get groceries in preparation for the visit of Jesús' brother Carlos and his wife Christina, leaving Jesús alone with Cayetanín. Jesús tries to get Cayetanín to stop crying and in the process he accidentally falls onto the glass pane which, despite Cayetano's promise, breaks and decapitates the baby.
In shock, Jesús sits still while staring at his child's corpse before beginning to clean up the apartment; he places the headless body in his crib but is too scared to pick up the severed head which is underneath a chair. He borrows bleach from Ruth, who is suspicious. Jesús is still in shock when María arrives but repeatedly manages to prevent her from coming in contact with Cayetanín. The two get ready for the guests and during the dinner with them, Jesús is very erratic and doesn't answer questions. Christina reveals that she is pregnant and Carlos wants the child to be friends with Cayetanín.
Jesús leaves to record a confession to María, which Carlos overhears. The two plan to tell María the truth and as they head out, Ruth arrives with her dog. As they try to tell María what happened, the dog sniffs out the baby's severed head which causes Jesús to go catatonic, Christina to vomit, and Ruth to start screaming. María takes the baby's head in her hands and opens the door to the balcony.
Some time later, police officers gather outside the apartment where it's stated that both Jesús and María had committed suicide by jumping from the balcony. Carlos sits nearby, only being able to utter the phrase, "The Coffee Table".
Cast[edit]
- Estefanía de los Santos as María[2]
- David Pareja as Jesús[2]
- Claudia Riera[3]
- Josep Riera[3]
- Itziar Castro[3]
- Emilio Gavira[3]
- Claudia Font[3]
- Gala Flores[3]
- Cristina Dilla[3]
- Paco Benjumea[3]
Production[edit]
The film was produced by La Charito Films alongside Alhena Production and Apocalipsis Producciones.[4] It was shot in Terrassa.[3] The helmer pitched his film as "an uncomfortable, politically incorrect film with extremely black humor and a brutal tragedy".[3]
Release[edit]
The film was presented in the 'Rebels with a Cause' slate of the 2022 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).[5] It also made it to the slate of the 2023 Fantaspoa for its Latin-American premiere,[6] and to the 2023 Fantastic Fest lineup for its North-American premiere.[7] MGM Premium boarded rights to the film.[8] Cinephobia Releasing picked up North American rights to the film.[9]
Reception[edit]
According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Coffee Table has a 86% approval rating based on 22 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[10]
Rafael Motamayor of /Film gave the film a 10 out of 10 rating deeming it to be "one of the bleakest, meanest, most unbearably cruel movies you could ever see".[11]
Top ten lists[edit]
The film also appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023:
Accolades[edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Best Film ('Rebels with a Cause' section) | Won | [9] | |
| 2023 | 41st Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival | Best Film ('White Raven' competition) | Won | [13] | |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Hopewell, John (16 May 2023). "Top Catalan Titles at Cannes". Variety.
- ^ a b Vall, Pere (26 April 2023). "El director Caye Casas se lleva el prestigioso premio White Raven". Mon Terrassa.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "El director de Terrassa Caye Casas estrena "La mesita del comedor" a Tallinn". Diari de Terrassa. 23 November 2022.
- ^ Suárez, Marta (29 April 2023). "La Charito Films logra un gran éxito en la 41ª edición del Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival". Qué!.
- ^ Vall, Pere (12 December 2022). ""La mesita del comedor": la comedia será cruel o no será". Fotogramas.
- ^ Mack, Andrew (8 March 2023). "Fantaspoa 2023: First Wave of This Year's Lineup, Festival Finally Returning to In-Person". Screen Anarchy.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (15 August 2023). "Fantastic Fest Sets 2023 Lineup; Legendary Pictures' 'The Toxic Avenger' To Open, Blumhouse Horror Comedy 'Totally Killer' Closes; Angus Cloud Pic In Mix". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Leffler, Rebecca (12 May 2023). "MPM Premium boards 'The Coffee Table And Raoni: An Unusual Friendship' (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
- ^ a b Mack, Andrew (7 July 2023). "The Coffee Table: Spanish Dark Comedy Horror Acquired by Cinephobia Releasing For North America". ScreenAnarchy.
- ^ "The Coffee Table". RottenTomatoes. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Motamayor, Rafael (24 September 2023). "The Coffee Table Review: An Unbearably Cruel Dark Comedy Everyone And No One Should Experience [Fantastic Fest 2023]". Slashfilm.
- ^ Martínez, Luis (21 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023, de 'Zinzindurrunkarratz' a 'La mesita del comedor'". El Mundo.
- ^ Engelen, Aurore (24 April 2023). "Halfway Home bags the Silver Méliès at the BIFFF". Cineuropa.
