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35% Critic Match
Magaluf Ghost Town
“Magaluf, Mallorca, a peaceful seaside town that turns into one of the most heavily overcrowded tourist destinations in summer. How do the locals survive in this low-cost tourist paradise?”
3.5 / 10• 2021• 1h 33m•NR• Spanish
Documentary
Storyline
At the height of the summer tourist season, the Spanish beach town Magaluf turns into a hellscape of the low-cost travel industry. For eight weeks every year, over one million mostly British vacationers ride an alcohol-soaked tide of public urination, fisticuffs and ambulance sirens for recreation. Instead of assembling a clip-reel of "balconing," when drunk idiots jump into hotel pools from their balconies, filmmaker Miguel Ángel Blanca crafts a far deeper and atmospheric look at a place where visitors and locals alike are driven by pleasure. Long-time resident Maria has little time left, so she takes in a seasonal lodger who listens to her relive her glory days. An enterprising real estate agent peddles an extravagant development, while a young gay man drifts without any plans beyond robbing a tourist for kicks. Part ghost story, part foreboding parable, this is a stylish and vivid impression of people and a place dreaming of escape. Myrocia Watamaniuk (Hot Docs)
Cast & Crew
JG
Javier Gil
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LeadWhat People Are Saying
2.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Miguel Ángel Blanca's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. Magaluf Ghost Town is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
