Overview
A father's desperate quest to fulfill his daughter's dying wish leads him down a dark path of moral compromise.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- austere
- disturbing
- melancholic
- late night cinephile viewing
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a spare, contemporary Spanish neo-noir with a strong emotional foundation, while noting its deliberately contrived and emotionally alienating behavior.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Alicia's desire for the Magical Girl Yukiro costume motivates Luis's increasingly transgressive actions.
Luis considers abuse and blackmail to obtain the expensive costume, while the surrounding characters operate through concealed leverage.
Critics describe the film as spare, austere, contemporary, and noirish, with menace emerging from social interactions rather than spectacle.
Luis, Bárbara, Damián, Alfredo, Ada, and Alicia occupy connected strands whose secrets and desires reshape one another.
Films like Magical Girl, and why
The Skin I Live In
shared neo-noir atmosphere, moral transgression, and emotionally cold social critique
The Holy Girl
shared Spanish art-house sensibility, psychological instability, and unsettling interpersonal manipulation
The Secret in Their Eyes
shared austere noirish style, damaged characters, and spiraling coercive behavior
Movie Details
- Director
- Carlos Vermut
- Release Date
- 2014-09-07
- Runtime
- 127 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (215)
Cast
- Bárbara Lennie
- José Sacristán
- Luis Bermejo
- Lucía Pollán
- Israel Elejalde
- Elisabet Gelabert
- Marisol Membrillo
- Miquel Insúa
- Javier Botet
- Alberto Chaves
Common questions
- What is Magical Girl about?
- A desperate father’s attempt to fulfill his terminally ill daughter’s anime-inspired wish opens a labyrinth of blackmail, desire, and moral ruin.
- What is Magical Girl like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Magical Girl as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Magical Girl violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Magical Girl as mild.
- What did critics think of Magical Girl?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a spare, contemporary Spanish neo-noir with a strong emotional foundation, while noting its deliberately contrived and emotionally alienating behavior.
- Which films are like Magical Girl?
- Films with a similar feel include The Skin I Live In, The Holy Girl, and The Secret in Their Eyes.
- How long is Magical Girl?
- Magical Girl runs 127 minutes.
