Utopia (2003 film)

Utopia (Utopía) is a 2003 Spanish-French fantasy thriller film film directed by María Ripoll from a screenplay by Juan Vicente Pozuelo and Curro Royo which stars Leonardo Sbaraglia, Najwa Nimri, and Tchéky Karyo.

Plot
Upon introduction from Jorge, a development cooperator turned guerrilla fighter (Angela), a clairvoyant (Adrián) and a blind former cop specialised in rescuing people from destructive cults (Hervé) come across each other through Utopía, a mysterious cult based in Madrid run by Samuel.

Production
The film is a Spanish-French co-production by Alquimia Cinema and Fidélité Productions. Shooting began in Madrid on 17 June 2002. Shooting locations also included Salamanca. It was primarily shot in Spanish, with some French dialogue. It boasted a substantial budget of €5 million.

Release
TF1 International scooped worldwide sales rights outside France and Spain. Distributed by Hispano FoxFilm, Utopia was released theatrically in Spain on 21 March 2003.

Reception
Jonathan Holland of Variety wrote that "sci-fi, noir and romance are tossed into the genre blender with uneven results".

Nuria Vidal of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting a "splendid" Emma Vilarasau as the film's best.