Film & Media · Madrid and Barcelona
Daniel Monzón's 'Ruega por nosotras' revisits Franco-era Patronato de Protección a la Mujer
Daniel Monzón's new film Ruega por nosotras opens in Spanish cinemas on Friday, 6 November, dramatising the Patronato de Protección a la Mujer, a state institution that ran until 1985. Reviewers from several Spanish outlets assess the drama as a prison film built around two young women.
AI text based on reports by LaVanguardia, El Periódico, EL PAÍS and other publishers. Published . How it is made
For membersThe first 30 seconds for everyone. Synthetic voice (AI).
In brief
Ruega por nosotras, directed by Daniel Monzón and starring Zoe Bonafonte and Manuela Calle, opens in Spanish cinemas on 6 November 2026.
The Patronato de Protección a la Mujer, set up under Franco, kept operating until 1985, long after the dictator's death in 1975.
The story is set in 1974 and follows 19-year-old Ana, who is sent to a reformatory in Madrid run by nuns.
El Mundo gave the film three stars and ABC's Oti Rodríguez Marchante gave it two, criticising its stereotypes.
A film about a forgotten institution
Ruega por nosotras follows Ana, a 19-year-old from a well-off Barcelona family, who is committed to a Patronato reformatory in Madrid after a night out. The film is set in 1974, a year before the death of Franco, and spans about five years. Zoe Bonafonte plays Ana and Manuela Calle plays Sole, a young woman from a humbler background who has cut ties with her family. Co-written by Daniel Monzón and Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the screenplay draws on the book of the same title by Consuelo García del Cid Guerra, a former inmate of the institution.
Institution and its legacy
The Patronato de Protección a la Mujer was a Franco-era institution under the Ministry of Justice that aimed to "regenerate" young women considered "fallen or at risk of falling". Reviewers note that it housed tens of thousands of girls in centres run by religious orders, where they faced severe physical punishment and psychological abuse. The institution kept operating after Franco's death and was not closed until 1985, a fact the film foregrounds. Monzón says the story is based on testimonies of former inmates.
“It is a reality that must be known.”
Critical reception
Reviews differ on the film's approach. El Mundo gave it three stars and called it a precise and claustrophobic reconstruction of the regime's repressive machinery. El Confidencial and La Vanguardia noted its prison-drama conventions, while ABC's critic Oti Rodríguez Marchante gave two stars and argued that the film relies on familiar types, such as good girls, cruel nuns and a cold family. EL PAÍS wrote that the film softens some of the harshest realism of the situations it portrays.
Context of the release
The film premiered out of competition at the San Sebastián festival. Victims of the Patronato demand justice, truth and reparation from the Spanish state and the Catholic Church. In March, 53 former inmates received a recognition, and the system is currently under investigation for violating human rights. Reviewers stress that the Patronato received little attention in Spanish cinema before this release.
- El Mundo
- 3 stars
- ABC
- 2 stars
Data from the article text
Ask about this text
Sources and context
- LaVanguardia“Ruega por nosotras” (★★★✩✩), the indomitable and other premieres of the week'Ruega por nosotras' (★★★✩✩), las indomables y otros estrenos de la semana · original in Spanish
- El PeriódicoDaniel Monzón premieres “Ruega por nosotras”: “While I was having fun with my friends, girls my age were suffering the tortures of the Patronato de Protección next door”Daniel Monzón estrena 'Ruega por nosotras': "Mientras yo me divertía con mis amigos, chicas de mi edad sufrían al lado de casa las torturas del Patronato de Protección' · original in Spanish
- EL PAÍS“Ruega por nosotras”: imperious and poorly measured denunciation against Francoist women's reformatories'Ruega por nosotras': imperiosa y mal medida denuncia contra los reformatorios femeninos franquistas · original in Spanish
- El Confidencial“Ruega por nosotras”: how to survive (or not) the Patronato de la Mujer during Francoism (and after)'Ruega por nosotras': cómo sobrevivir (o no) al Patronato de la Mujer en el franquismo (y después) · original in Spanish
- Daniel Monzón
- Director and co-writer of Ruega por nosotras
- Zoe Bonafonte
- Actress who plays Ana in the film
- Jorge Guerricaechevarría
- Co-writer of the screenplay
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support Pollar