The Chalk Line
The Chalk Line (Spanish: Jaula; transl. 'Cage')[lower-alpha 1][3] is a 2022 Spanish mystery psychological thriller[4] film directed by Ignacio Tatay in his feature debut. It stars Elena Anaya.
| The Chalk Line | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster  | |
| Spanish | Jaula | 
| Directed by | Ignacio Tatay | 
| Written by | 
  | 
| Produced by | 
  | 
| Starring | 
  | 
| Cinematography | Oriol Barcelona | 
| Music by | Snorri Hallgrímsson | 
Production company  | Pokeepsie Films  | 
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia | 
Release date  | 
  | 
Running time  | 106 minutes[1][2] | 
| Country | Spain | 
| Language | Spanish | 
| Box office | €152,266 | 
Plot
    
The story is primarily set in a residential area with upper-class villas.[5] One night, Paula and her husband discover a wandering girl who is obsessed with a monster that will allegedly haunt her once she crosses a chalk square drawn on the ground. After attempting to amend their conjugal relationship, the couple pledges to foster the girl on a temporary basis.[3][6]
Cast
    
- Elena Anaya as Paula[7]
 - Pablo Molinero as Simón[8]
 - Carlos Santos as Eduardo[9]
 - Eva Llorach as Maite[9]
 - Esther Acebo as Claudia[9]
 - Eloy Azorín as Beltrán[9]
 - Eva Tennear as Clara[10]
 - Mona Martínez as Arana[9]
 - Sonia Almarcha as Gloria[9]
 
Production
    
Isabel Peña collaborated in writing the story.[11] The project, a Pokeepsie Films production, was halted due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. Filming resumed in July 2020,[12][13] with Oriol Barcelona on cinematography duties.[14] The film was shot at a number of locations in the Madrid region,[7] including Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Boadilla del Monte, as well as a set in Villaviciosa de Odón.[6]
Release
    
Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia,[13] the film was theatrically released in Spain on 9 September 2022[1] and came out on Netflix on 24 October 2022.[15][2]
Reception
    
    Box office
    
The Chalk Line grossed €152,266 in Spain.[16]
Critical response
    
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating, with an average score of 6.4/10, based on 9 reviews.[2]
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 78 points ("good"), deeming it to be "candy for thriller lovers", with "good performances and production values", endorsing a "memorable debut".[11] Miguel Ángel Romero of Cinemanía rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that Tatay makes a masterful debut, "a horror-tinged thriller whose strength lies in the acting quality of its protagonists".[10] Jordi Batlle Caminal of Fotogramas rated Jaula 3 out of 5 stars, deeming the debut feature to be a "model exercise in genre cinema, well-made and without authorial pretensions", featuring a "spectacular" plot twist at the height of the hour mark.[17] Marshall Shaffer of Decider.com considered that despite being a "promising feature debut" for Tatay, the film "never quite coheres as it should", failing to "fulfill all its ambitions or breakthrough beyond its (admittedly impressively crafted) atmosphere".[18]
See also
    
    
Notes
    
- Also known under the working title La casa de tiza
 
References
    
- "The Chalk Line (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDbPro. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
 - "The Chalk Line". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
 - ""Jaula", ópera prima de Ignacio Tatay, con Elena Anaya y Carlos Santos en su reparto, llegará a los cines el 9 de septiembre". 73tv (in Spanish). 15 April 2022.
 - Lasso, Ana (9 September 2022). "'Jaula', un inquietante 'thriller' psicológico que cautivó a Álex de la Iglesia en tan solo un día y esconde una brutal realidad". Sensacine (in Spanish).
 - Belategui, Oskar (8 September 2022). "'Jaula': Elena Anaya y la pesadilla de ser madre". El Correo (in Spanish).
 - "Rodajes en la Comunidad de Madrid - Largometrajes cinematográficos 2021" (PDF) (in Spanish). Film Madrid. Oficina de Promoción de Rodajes de la Comunidad de Madrid. Region of Madrid Filming Promotion Office. p. 41. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
 - "Primeras imágenes de Jaula, cinta de terror protagonizada por Elena Anaya y producida por Álex de la Iglesia". Cultura Ocio (in Spanish). 28 July 2022.
 - Simón, Xisco (11 September 2022). "'Jaula': Elena Anaya protagoniza la mejor película española de terror del año". Las Furias Magazine (in Spanish).
 - Ocaña, Carla (25 October 2022). "Quién es quién en "Jaula", la nueva película de terror de Netflix". mag (in Spanish) – via El Comercio.
 - Romero, Miguel Ángel (6 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Jaula'". Cinemanía (in Spanish) – via 20minutos.es.
 - Hernández Luján, Raquel (1 September 2022). "Crítica de Jaula, una película muy solvente sobre terrores reales". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish).
 - ""La casa de tiza" reinicia de nuevo su rodaje tras el parón por la COOVID-19". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 July 2020.
 - Ros, Ana (15 July 2020). "La casa de la tiza". Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (in Spanish).
 - "Pokeepsie Films retoma el rodaje de 'La casa de tiza'". Camera and Light Mag (in Spanish). 14 July 2020.
 - "Jaula (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
 - "Jaula". Catálogo de Cinespañol. ICAA. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
 - Batlle Caminal, Jordi (8 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Jaula': una producción de Álex de la Iglesia". Fotogramas (in Spanish).
 - Shaffer, Marshall (24 October 2022). "Stream It or Skip It: 'The Chalk Line' on Netflix, a Creepy Kid Thriller with an Outline Drawn Too Lightly". decider.com.
 
External links
    
- Jaula at ICAA's Catálogo de Cinespañol
 - The Chalk Line at IMDb
 
