Runner
After a psychotic break threatens her athletic future, an elite runner confronts the cost of choosing competition over her own wellbeing.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- intimate
- serious
- empathetic
- reflective viewing
- arthouse cinema night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Cris must weigh her return to elite competition against the limits imposed by her psychotic break and ongoing treatment.
Cris struggles with health limitations and medication while attempting to rebuild her competitive life.
The central choice explicitly places Cris’s sport in opposition to survival.
Cris lives with her sister as she tries to recover and consider her future.
Films like Runner, and why
The Wrestler
character-driven sports drama about bodily limits, ambition, and survival
Million Dollar Baby
emotionally intense athletic drama examining identity beyond competitive achievement
Sound of Metal
grounded psychological drama about a performer adapting to changed physical and emotional capacities
Movie Details
- Director
- Laura García Alonso
- Release Date
- 2026-05-29
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (2)
Cast
- Alba Sáez
- Marina Salas
- Àlex Brendemühl
- Ot Serra Bas
- Marta Bayarri
- Jordi Farrés
- Marta Bessa
- Claudia Gallego
- Carlos Vicente
Common questions
- What is Runner about?
- After a psychotic break threatens her athletic future, an elite runner confronts the cost of choosing competition over her own wellbeing.
- What is Runner like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Runner as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Runner violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Runner.
- Which films are like Runner?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wrestler, Million Dollar Baby, and Sound of Metal.
- How long is Runner?
- Runner runs 96 minutes.
