– The actor plays one of Spain’s most notorious serial killers in a production by Enrique Cerezo, also starring José Coronado, Lucía Guerrero, Karra Elejalde, Luis Callejo and Andrés Gertrúdix
Eduardo Noriega on the set of Jarabo
Filming has begun in Madrid on Jarabo, a film directed by veteran filmmaker Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1978 for Las palabras de Max and director of major box-office hits such as the comedies Spanish Affair, and its sequel Spanish Affair 2, Los peores años de nuestra vida (1994) and Amo tu cama rica (1991) and the musicals The other Side of the Bed and its sequel The 2 Sides of the Bed.
Based on true events, the film recounts the story of José María Jarabo, a murderer who shocked Spain in the late 1950s and whose trial became an unprecedented social phenomenon. Charming, elegant, from a wealthy family and the subject of intense media and public scrutiny, he became one of Spain’s first media-famous criminals.
With what its creators describe as an elegant and dark visual style, this feature film portrays the descent of a refined yet self-destructive man into brutal violence, while exploring society’s fascination with crime, the rise of sensationalist media and the contradictions of a society defined by appearances and repression.
Eduardo Noriega (Goya nominee for The Wolf and Abre los ojos, appearing this year in La ahorcada) plays the lead role and takes on one of the most complex and unsettling characters of his career: a magnetic, decadent figure who provoked horror, fascination and even admiration in Franco-era Spain. Alongside him, Lucía Guerrero (Sister Of Mine, Unit 7) plays Beryl, the Englishwoman with whom Jarabo becomes obsessively infatuated and whose relationship will determine the course of his life.
The main cast also includes José Coronado (Goya winner for No Rest for the Wicked and Close Your Eyes) and Karra Elejalde (Goya winner for Even the Rain and Spanish Affair), as well as Luis Callejo (three-time Goya nominee, appearing this year in La luz), Andrés Gertrúdix (Goya nominee, seen last year in She Walks in Darkness) and Jorge Sanz (Goya winner for Si te dicen que caí, appearing this year in 9 Moons).
Set in Madrid in the late 1950s, the film follows José María Jarabo as he maintains a life of appearances: impeccable suits, luxury hotels, high-society friends and irresistible charm. Behind this sophisticated façade, however, lies a man who is ruined, addicted and emotionally devastated by his relationship with Beryl, a married Englishwoman. As he struggles to hold on to a life that is already falling apart, he spirals into humiliation, debt and violence, culminating in a brutal crime that shocked the entire country. Becoming an unprecedented media sensation, admired by some women and hounded by a public captivated by his persona, Jarabo would ultimately become one of the darkest and most seductive figures in Spanish criminal history.
Jarabo’s story has previously been portrayed on Spanish television in an episode (with the same title) of the series La huella del crimen, created and produced by Pedro Costa for TVE, directed by Juan Antonio Bardem in 1985 and starring Sancho Gracia, María José Alfonso and José Manuel Cervino.
Jarabo is produced by Enrique Cerezo Producciones in partnership with RTVE, Prime Video and the ICAA. International sales are handled by Film Factory Entertainment.
(Translated from Spanish)
