Esa noche en Belén
2024 · 27m · España
Directed by Óscar Parra de Carrizosa
Genres: coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, tender
Young Alejandro talks with Father Manolo about his loss of faith. Nevertheless, both, accompanied by Pepe, decide to continue the tradition of going to their city's Christmas Market on Christmas Eve afternoon; before going home, Father Manolo proposes they go to venerate the Holy Chest of Bethlehem. But tradition is one thing and faith another: soon they will all have to face their doubts and something much bigger.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone expects the priest to lose faith first—Parra flips it, makes the kid the doubter and lets the old man sit with it anyway. It's a small subversion, but it works because the film doesn't wink at you; it just lets the tension breathe.
A patient, formally precise study in spiritual ambiguity that knows its lineage—the quiet Catholic drama, the European coming-of-age film—and honors those traditions while interrogating them. The Christmas Market becomes a crucible, and the editing holds silence the way Bergman did.
The specificity lives in how Parra frames conversation: long takes that let dialogue unspool without cutting away, which means every pause becomes a choice, every glance between Alejandro and Father Manolo carries weight that a faster film would squander.