Catalan filmmaker Carla Simón has quietly built a reputation for telling personal, authentic stories that resonate with audiences. Her new film, Romería, which is inspired by Simón’s own life experiences, is no different, going deep into universal themes of family, identity, and community that should make the story easy to connect with. Romería focuses on Marina (Llúcia Garcia), a young woman who goes to the Spanish city of Vigo as part of her quest to apply for a filmmaking scholarship, seeking specific paperwork related to her father’s death certificate that she needs in order to qualify. The trip doesn’t exactly go as she’d want it to, however, as she meets her extended family on her father’s side and learns some uncomfortable truths, about her parents in particular. Tristán Ulloa, Marina Troncoso, and José Ángel Egido round out what is an incredibly impressive cast that, together, helps bring this complicated and intense family to the screen.
Marina’s Search For Answers Drives Romería’s Emotional Story

Marina holding a camcorder in Romería

On the surface, Romería centers on uncovering long-held familial secrets, but Simón takes that already compelling premise and pushes it into slightly different territory. She appears much more interested in how hard it can be to truly understand those who have passed away, which is something that Marina experiences almost constantly. Each relative that Marina speaks with, including her uncle, aunt, and cousins, gives a different impression of her parents, which points to a broader theme: Memories are based on experiences, and those experiences are inevitably subjective. As is often the case in real life, there are no sweet and simple answers to Marina’s questions. Marina’s uncertainty regarding her parents gives Romería its emotional underbelly. She searches for clarity, but the deeper into her family she looks, the more doubt she finds. She discovers intense feelings of guilt and grief, and plenty of unresolved pain from years of burying these emotions. As a result, Marina never truly feels as if she fits in with her extended family, even as they invite her to dinners and celebrations; some are even extremely upset with her presence. The tension is palpable here, which is a real testament to the relatability of the story and the execution by Simón. Their discomfort comes in large part from her parents’ AIDS-related deaths, through which the film explores how stigma, particularly in relation to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, is often passed down from generation to generation, lingering in families for decades on end. Marina (along with the audience) is forced to piece together the specifics of her parents’ lives and what they were like as people. With this, Simón understands that families are inherently complicated, and that answers to these sorts of questions often take time to come together. Again, it’s this relatability of the core elements of Simón’s work, and Romería in particular, so engaging overall.
The Characters Speak Louder Than The Drama

Marina and another woman dressed in the same color against an apartment building

Romería’s greatest strength isn’t its familiarity, however. Instead, the film thrives on its subtlety; rather than relying on dramatic confrontations, Simón allows the quieter moments to take center stage, and these scenes have the biggest impact. Romería doesn’t need a big set piece or a huge blow-up, and instead leans on the strength of its actors to pull forward a story drenched in emotion, even if it’s understated.

Romería becomes more stylized as it goes on, and the third act is full of ambition that elevates the film to a new level…

Llúcia Garcia thrives in her role as Marina. Much of her performance is rooted in listening as other characters share information about her parents, so much of which is heartbreaking. Garcia’s reactions, and her eventual responses, are when the character truly comes to life. Even if she’s not speaking, Marina’s expressions alone are enough to tell an entire story, as Garcia effectively communicates everything the audience needs to know regarding her character and how she feels. It’s a subtle performance, but one that deserves its plaudits. Romería becomes more stylized as it goes on, and the third act is full of ambition that elevates the film to a new level, where the line between memory and imagination is blurred. While these sequences, and the film’s more fantastical elements more broadly, may be off-putting to some viewers, they help to push Marina’s emotional journey forward.

That journey is at the heart of Romería, and it comes at the expense of entertainment. Those looking for a fun, fast-paced story, or one that is full of mystery or plot twists, may find themselves disinterested in this film. Romería takes its time, thriving in its ambiguity and in the lack of satisfying answers. The story focuses not only on this, but also on how to move forward regardless, harkening back to the authenticity and genuineness of Simón’s earlier filmmaking. Romería is now playing in New York and Los Angeles, and expands to more major markets on July 1

Release Date

September 5, 2025

Runtime

115 minutes

Director

Carla Simón

Writers

Carla Simón

Producers

María Zamora