Calle Málaga—A Home in Tangier

Anyone who has never been to Tangier will want to go there right away. Right from the very first scenes, the director celebrates a place of longing: a picturesque seaside city with friendly people from a wide variety of cultures, small, winding alleys, and markets offering plump, sun-ripened fruit.

This small tribute to Touzani’s hometown helps us understand the main character Maria’s love for her city and her neighborhood—and thus why it is impossible for Maria to give up her life here.

Maria is an energetic and fun-loving woman in her late 70s who, since her husband’s death, has been living in the apartment where she raised her daughter: on Calle Málaga. She loves the hustle and bustle in the alley right outside her front door; she knows everyone here, young and old, and knows who she can trust. Maria is alone, but not lonely. Still, it’s always a highlight when her daughter Clara comes to visit—which happens all too rarely. Clara lives in Madrid with her two children; she’s a nurse, divorced, chronically overwhelmed—and she needs money. That’s why she’s decided to sell the apartment on Calle Málaga. She hopes to lure her mother to Madrid—but her mother refuses outright.

So an estate agent is hired to handle the sale, and the furniture is sold off at bargain prices. Maria moves into a nursing home. But Maria and being coddled—that just doesn’t go together at all. So the old woman hatches a plan, secretly returns to her home, and simply starts all over again. And she falls in love.

All of this is portrayed, true to the motto: We’re allowed to dream, after all! And you can. While Carmen Maura is initially portrayed as a gentle old woman against a picturesque backdrop, she eventually brings out the wild and elusive side that has made her a beloved figure since the 1980s, when she was Pedro Almodóvar’s muse.

Maryam Touzani's new film, "Calle Málaga – A Home in Tangier," was already celebrated last year at the Venice Film Festival. Spanish actress Carmen Maura stars in the lead role.

A film that celebrates aging and self-determination—and is a pleasure to watch.

MA, DE, BE, ES, 2025 Director: Maryam Touzani, 116 minutes, FSK: 12

6:30 p.m. Dinner: Rfissa (flatbread, chicken stew with lentils, ras el-hanout)
Registration subject to availability at info@landgasthaus-boess.de

7:30 p.m.: Movie